Technology Support Center

Blackboard SafeAssign

What is SafeAssign?
SafeAssign is a plagiarism prevention service that is now part of  the Blackboard Learning System.  SafeAssignment is one of the two assignment creation tools available to Instructors.   A SafeAssignment functions like other assignments but also sends files submitted by students to SafeAssign.  The SafeAssign service generates an interactive originality report for each paper submitted to assist instructors in determining what content is original and what content may have been copied from existing sources .  The SafeAssign service cannot determine if sources are properly cited for quoted material.  However, if instructors see that sources are properly cited, they have the option of re-running the report without those sources.  Instructors can choose to allow their students to view the SA originality reports or not.  If instructors need to teach students how to cite sources, they can also set up draft SafeAssignments so students can see what an SA originally report might look like before their actual SafeAssignment is due.   One more feature only available to instructors is to send files directly to the SafeAssign service.

Note: SafeAssign is a service that is not hosted here at BGSU and availability of the service is not controlled by BGSU.  If submission fails because SafeAssign is temporarily unavailable, re-submit again in 30 minutes.  Any paper submitted should be no larger than 2 MB.  Although the turnaround time to get an SA Originality Report is usually less than 30 minutes, it may take up to 24 hours at midterm or end of the term when a huge number of papers are being submitted to SafeAssign for scanning.

Resources for Instructors using SafeAssign:

• Creating a SafeAssignment in your Blackboard Course
• Using the Direct Submit Feature of Blackboard’s SafeAssign
• Synchronizing your Blackboard Course with the SafeAssign Central Database
• Instructor's FAQs
• Browser Support
• SafeAssign Wiki
• Blackboard Publications
  • Introductory brochure with sample report
  • Blackboard SafeAssign Building Blocks Instructor Manual
    (note that there now are more supported file types than this document lists)

Resources for Students using SafeAssign:

• Submitting a Paper for a SafeAssignment in your Blackboard Course
• Student's FAQs
• SafeAssign Wiki
• Blackboard Publications
  • Introductory brochure with sample report
  • Blackboard SafeAssign Building Blocks Student Manual

Resources from other universities using Blackboard

• Purdue University
• Florida State University Center for Teaching and Learning
• George Mason University
• Virginia Commonwealth University Campus Learning & Writing Centers

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