Blackboard SafeAssign is a plagiarism detection tool that compares student submissions against a vast database of academic materials, websites, and other student papers.

​Enable Safe Assign for a Blackboard Ultra Assignment

Blackboard SafeAssign is a plagiarism detection tool that compares student submissions against a vast database of academic materials, websites, and other student papers. SafeAssign analyzes the submissions, checking for similarities and generating an "Originality Report" that highlights any matching or similar content found in its database. The Originality Report provides a percentage indicating the overall similarity between the submitted work and the sources it has detected. It also shows specific matches and provides links to the original sources, allowing instructors to review the similarities in context and make informed decisions.

It's important to note that the percentage of similarity in the Originality Report doesn't necessarily indicate plagiarism. It's up to the instructor to assess the matches and determine if any inappropriate or unattributed content has been used. Instructors can use their judgment and additional information to evaluate the report and engage with students if necessary.

SafeAssign is designed to promote academic integrity and foster a culture of originality and proper citation. By using this tool, educators can discourage plagiarism and encourage students to develop their research and writing skills while appropriately citing and acknowledging external sources.

Procedure

1. ​Access your assignment in the course. If you have not created an assignment yet, please refer to Creating Assignments in Blackboard Ultra.
2. Click on the assignment.
3. In the top right corner, select the settings gear which opens all settings for an assignment. 
4. Scroll to the Additional Tools section and select Enable SafeAssign.
5. Select the check box to the left of Check submissions for plagiarism with SafeAssign.
   •  Optional Setting: Select the check box to the left of Allow students to view the SafeAssign Originality Report for their attempts if you would like them to see a copy of the SafeAssign report.
   • Optional Setting: Select exclude submissions from the institutional and Global References Databases if the student is submitting the assignment as a draft. If they submit a paper using SafeAssign then make some edits and submit the paper, their SafeAssign report will produce a false match to another students work.
6. Once you have set up your settings, select the X in the black bar across from Safe Assign.
7. Select Save at the bottom of the settings screen to save your changes.

Viewing Originality Reports in the Gradebook

After a student submits an assignment that is being checked by SafeAssign a summary report is executed. This report can take up to 24 hours to appear.

1. To access the report, select gradebook from the top navigation.
2. Select the name of the assignment.
3. There will be an originality column with a checkmark icon.
4. To view the report, select the checkmark.
5. Select the Attempt.
6. Once the student's submission opens, select Originality Report.
7. Select additional content, this will open another page with the Safe Assign Originality Report. Note: We recommend taking a close look at the report as it often picks up properly cited content in the submission.
8. If there is highlighted material, it will show you a side by side comparison of the original source. To view that report select Open Match Source. ​
9. To save a copy of the report, select the printer icon in the top right hand corner. This will open the report in a new tab.
10. Select the save icon in the top right, and save it to the location of your choice.