Distance Education provides access to Turnitin Feedback Studio (opens new window) for APSU faculty to use in their courses. Turnitin Feedback Studio, often abbreviated to Turnitin, provides instructors with the tools to deter plagiarism and provide personalized feedback using rubrics, drag-and-drop, voice, and/or text comments. Turnitin use can help streamline the grading and feedback process for written assignments, improve student writing skills, and encourage original work.
Turnitin is integrated into the online classroom as an option within D2L. D2L course shells are issued for all courses at APSU including face-to-face sections making Turnitin available to all. This integration ensures ease of access through single sign-on for faculty and students, creates the opportunity to link Turnitin Feedback Studio to the D2L Gradebook, and allows students to easily see when feedback is available for them.
After December 31, 2024, the optional instructor setting that evaluates assignment submissions for grammar, usage, mechanics, style, and spelling errors, called the ETS® e-rater, will be discontinued.
APSU users will access Turnitin through courses in the D2L Brightspace learning management system (LMS). Access is not available at the Turnitin.com website directly. LMS access uses single sign-on which supports user identity verification, complies with APSU password protocols, and prevents the need for users to maintain and secure an additional account. Using the LMS also helps consolidate the learning environment and retains gradable items within the online classroom. Directions on setting up a Turnitin assignment are available on the “Faculty – Enabling Turnitin” tab above, and directions for student submissions are available on the “Student Resources” tab above.
Faculty, please consider Turnitin's strong recommendation that the course syllabus of each course using the service carry a notice to the effect of the following:
“Students understand that by taking this course any assignment documents may be subject
to submission to Turnitin for the detection of plagiarism and AI generated text, and
they may be included as source documents in the Turnitin reference database. Students
are encouraged to review the Turnitin End-User License Agreement (opens new window)and the AI Writing Detection FAQ (opens new window).”
If use of the service is instituted after distribution of the syllabus, then consider
timely and equivalent written notice to students.
Portions of student's papers that are found to be the same as other sources stored in the Turnitin database will be highlighted and the sources identified in Turnitin. When the source is another student's paper, from any institution, only the portions of the paper that are the same are highlighted. Faculty and students cannot see the full text of the source student's paper.
A feature within Turnitin allows faculty from any institution to request copies of
the full text of student’s papers from any institution. A review by the Office of
the Registrar, Information Technology Security, University Attorney, and Distance
Education has identified this feature as a potential student privacy, FERPA, and intellectual
property concern.
Austin Peay State University has opted not to provide papers in response to these
requests. The portion of the paper in question that may be plagiarized is highlighted
on the student's paper and visible in the Turnitin Feedback Studio. This information
will assist faculty in determining whether concerns about plagiarism are founded.
Sharing additional information could be a risk with regard to FERPA and the student’s
right to privacy, right to determine what happens to their assignments and could create
intellectual property concerns. In addition, the paper content may be of a personal
nature and result in the sharing of the student’s personal information such as their
identity or other covered information in violation of the student’s FERPA rights.
Faculty do not need the other student's paper to leverage Turnitin for academic integrity.
The paper section(s) that match content from the Turnitin database are automatically
identified within the tool. Additionally, to file charges of academic misconduct,
faculty only need to provide a copy of their student's paper and the Turnitin report
showing the similarities highlighted. For more information about academic misconduct
at APSU, please visit Academic Honesty and Integrity.
Important: matches between student papers does not necessarily indicate collusion
or student-student plagiarism, but instead, it could be that both students plagiarized
or poorly cited the same resource. The features within Turnitin can help faculty determine
this possibility.
Faculty - Enabling Turnitin
- Creating a Turnitin Assignment in D2L - provides the steps necessary to create a Turnitin-enabled assignment in D2L Brightspace.
- Collusion-checking - guides faculty on identifying potential collusion among student submissions for specific assignments.
- Excluding Assignment Templates - decreases false similarity created when students are all using the same template to submit their assignment.
- Faculty have the ability to exempt individual students from having their Dropbox assignments submitted to Turnitin. Instructions on how to do so are available in this Exempt Individual Learners from Turnitin (opens new window) video. The exemption applies to individual learners for the entire course.
More Faculty Guides
- Assignment Management in Feedback Studio using D2L (opens new window)
- Navigating the Similarity Report (opens new window)
- Accessing the Similarity Report with D2L (opens new window)
- Downloading and Sharing the Similarity Report (opens new window)
- Essay Assignment Grading and Feedback (opens new window)
Faculty - Generative AI Resources
Important Note about AI Detector Tools
Generative AI like ChatGPT is widely available and is being used in higher education in both positive and potentially negative ways. One negative outcome, for example, is using generative AI to create content that one then passes off as their own. To counteract this, there is a push for AI detectors and many are already available. Please use caution with these tools and always review their terms of service, privacy statements, etc. Additionally, understand that these tools are not 100% accurate and accuracy varies by tool and the continued advancements in generative AI. Finally, AI detectors are not a simple solution to this issue. As they are not definitive, they can only act as a conversation starter.
Putting AI Writing Detectors in Context
AI detectors are appealing as faculty seek ways to identify unapproved generative
AI usage in writing assignments; however, are they THE solution to the AI cheating
problem? Not by themselves. AI detectors are one piece, one data point contributing
to the overall picture. Instructional technology staff from Distance Education discuss
this concept and delve into other pieces in the AI puzzle. Get started with addressing
undesired AI writing usage in your courses, learn about the Turnitin AI Writing indicator
to which you have access, and discuss addressing concerns with students.
Academic Integrity in the Classroom: Similarity & AI Indication in the Formative Space
The Turnitin Similarity Report and AI writing indicator are best used to inform educator
judgment, but are not meant to be the sole measure of academic integrity. Megan Sexton,
APSU's Turnitin Customer Success Manager, focuses on how the Similarity Index and
AI Indication reports are the same, how they differ, and how to clearly communicate
with students about the writing process, guiding the discussion in a positive direction.
Turnitin AI Writing Detection
Turnitin offers AI detection capabilities that go a step further by also filtering text likely paraphrased using AI or a word spinner, in addition to detecting text that is likely to be AI-generated. Instructors can access this AI detection tool as part of their Turnitin Feedback Studio usage. Turnitin's AI Writing Detection FAQ (opens new window) notes:
- "Turnitin’s AI writing detection indicator shows the percentage of text that has likely been generated by an AI writing tool while the report highlights the exact segments that seem to be AI-written. The final decision on whether any misconduct has occurred rests with the reviewer/instructor. Turnitin does not make a determination of misconduct, rather it provides data for the educators to make an informed decision based on their academic and institutional policies."
- "We must emphasize that the percentage on the AI writing indicator should not be used as the sole basis for action or a definitive grading measure by instructors."
- "Turnitin’s AI writing & paraphrasing features provide data and insight to enable educators to start a formative conversation with their students in conjunction with their academic misconduct policies."
Since this tool will continue to change and possibly often, we are providing links to Turnitin resources and information which should also be frequently updated.
- Turnitin AI Writing Detection Frequently Asked Questions (opens new window) - A must-read to learn about what the tool does and qualifying documents
- Guide for Approaching AI in the Classroom (opens new window)
- More AI Turnitin Resources (opens new window) - Incudes a rubric/checklist to help faculty review their current writing prompts and make changes to help deter generative AI usage
Discussing Results with Students
- Approaching a student regarding potential AI misuse (opens new window)
- Discussion starters for tough conversations about AI (opens new window)
- False Positives for Educators (opens new window)
- False Positives for Students (opens new window)
- More AI Turnitin Resources (opens new window) - Incudes a instructional activities and resources to share with students
Faculty - Similarity & Feedback Resources
Reading the Similarity Report
- Guide: How to Read the Similarity Report
- Video: How to Read the Similarity Report
Providing Writing and Assignment Feedback
- Guide: How to Provide Feedback
- Video: How to Provide Feedback
- Avoiding Plagiarism (opens new window)
- The Plagiarism Spectrum (opens new window)
- The Honor Code: Guidelines for Academic Integrity (opens new window)
- Setting reasonable expectations for the Turnitin Similarity Score (opens new window)
For more resources, visit the Turnitin Disrupting Plagiarism website (opens new window).
Student Resources
Turnitin Feedback Studio is used by faculty through D2L Assignments to check for similarity and provide writing feedback.
- Guide: Submitting an Assignment and Reviewing Feedback
- Video: Submitting an Assignment and Reviewing Feedback
Tech Support
Resources
In addition to the resources featured on our website, please visit either link for more options:
Contact Support
Distance Education provides faculty, staff, and student support for online teaching, learning, and technology. We are available Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm CT.
- Distance Education Ticketing System - Use the ticketing system to submit requests for student and faculty technical issues, faculty course copies and combines, etc.
- online@apsu.edu
- 931-221-6625
Feel free to utilize the provided resources outside of regular hours, and reach out to us if you require further assistance during our standard operating hours.