how to grading turnitin assignments on blackboard

Creating a Turnitin assignment

Only alpha-numeric characters should be used when creating an assignment title. We do not support special characters and punctuation.

Select whether the assignment will require Originality Reports for submissions or whether any file type can be uploaded. The default option is to  Allow only file types that Turnitin can check for similarity .

For assignments that do not require Originality Reports instructors can select Allow any file type which allows instructors to leave feedback on every file type.

Choose where files will be submitted using the Submit Papers To option.

If the repository options are enabled for an instructor by the administrator, two or four options will appear within the Submit papers to dropdown list . Select from the dropdown list where you would like papers to be submitted to. The settings provide you with the ability to select whether papers are stored in a Turnitin standard paper repository, your institution's paper repository, the student's choice of paper repository, or no repository at all.

The benefit of submitting papers to the standard paper repository is that student papers submitted to the assignment are checked against other institutions' student submissions. However, by selecting to submit papers to the institution's paper repository, this means that the assignment will only be checked against other students' submissions within the institution. If you select no repository , your students' papers will not be stored in the Turnitin standard paper repository or the institution's paper repository, therefore meaning that the papers will not be checked for collusion between students of the same or different institutions.

• Modify any other assignment options.

Attach a rubric to the assignment

If you would like to use a rubric to grade the papers submitted to the assignment you may use the rubric list drop down menu to select a previously created or imported rubric or you can launch the rubric manager by clicking on the Launch Rubric Manager  link and create a new rubric to attach to the assignment.

Enable e-rater® grammar check?

This feature of assignment creation provides instructors with the option to enable the e-rater grammar and spelling check for all submissions to the assignment. When enabled student submissions receive detailed grammar feedback in GradeMark automatically through the e-rater technology. Select yes to enable the e-rater  engine for the assignment. If this assignment option is not available then the e-rater   grammar check is disabled for the account. Contact the Turnitin account administrator to enable the e-rater grammar check for the account.

(Optional) Select the ETS handbook level from the drop down menu. The ETS handbooks provide students with in depth information about the grammar errors the  e-rater technology finds in their paper.

Select the dictionary used for the spelling check.

The Categories enabled by default option allows instructors to choose which categories of feedback are enabled when viewing assignment submissions in GradeMark. The default is to show the feedback for every category.

Changing Advanced Assignment Option Defaults

If any changes have been made to the advanced assignment options, an additional option will be available at the bottom of the options panel. The instructor is asked Would you like to save these options as your defaults for future assignments? Select yes to save these advanced assignment options as the default for all future assignments created within this course. These default advanced assignment options will not apply to new assignments created in any other course on the Blackboard  Learning System, but will be applied to all assignments created in the current course by any instructor.

The default settings can be changed at any time when creating a new assignment or updating an existing assignment. 

• 1500 papers per assignment
• 100 assignments per class

Was this page helpful?

We're sorry to hear that.

If you have the time, we'd love to know how we could improve it.

Need to contact a human?

• Turnitin.com
• Release Notes
• Known Issues
• Privacy and Security
• System Status

• (Click here for the student version of this page)

Turnitin Assignments in Blackboard

• Benefits for Teaching & Learning
• Online Tutorials
• Quick Guides
• Additional Resources & Troubleshooting
• Information on Purchasing Equipment & Support Statement

Online assignments allow you to provide detailed feedback to your students using annotations, rubrics, voice recordings and text. Turnitin Feedback Studio, now integrated into Blackboard, offers a streamlined process for online assignments. The Blackboard assignments tool is also available in Blackboard and offers greater support for group submissions and delegated marking than Turnitin assignments but have more limited annotation tools.

Update for the 2023/24 Academic Year: Any assignments that have the old blue and red logo Turnitin logo (see below), or a "Turnitin Direct" broken image displayed, must be re-created using the new Turnitin assignment tool in your new modules to ensure they work. The assignments with the old logo will no longer be accessible through Blackboard after August 2023. We also highly recommend checking our Online Tutorials & Guides below which cover how to set up your assignments step-by-step. It is important to note, for example, that Turnitin assignments now add results to the Grade Centre automatically (similar to Blackboard assignments) so you will need to hide the corresponding Grade Centre columns regardless of the Feedback Release Date in Turnitin itself.

→ Click on the titles below to view information and guides on using Turnitin assignments.

Online assignments allow students to submit essays in the College Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Blackboard Learn and provide you with the functionality to give detailed feedback to your students using annotations, rubrics, voice recordings and text. Turnitin Feedback Studio offers a streamlined process for online assignments. Click on the video below for a brief overview of how you can use online assignments to provide detailed feedback to enhance student learning. A separate page is available for assignments created with Blackboard's own assignment tool .

We strongly recommend all Turnitin assignments are created through Blackboard exclusively and that staff & students no longer access/modify/create assignments through Turnitin.com to avoid potential issues. If you are planning to use Turnitin for summative online exams, we have an overview page on online exams giving general advice on using Blackboard Assignments, Tests and Turnitin for exams.

Notice regarding the Turnitin Similarity Score : The similarity score in the Turnitin report is not a measure of plagiarism within a piece of work but represents where there are similarities to other sources (journals, essays, books etc.). A submission with a high similarity score might be satisfactory once the bibliography, cover sheet etc. are accounted for whereas a submission could have a low score but could be heavily paraphrasing other sources without citation.

Lecturers should advise their students not to focus on getting the similarity score below a certain percentage as there are many other dimensions to correctly citing sources. More information on interpreting the Similarity Score is available on the Turnitin website ; instructors may also find this blog post by Turnitin on the similarity report informative .

If a paper submitted to your class assignment shows a high similarity match to another paper or if you are contacted by another academic either within college or from another college, please see the Turnitin website for advice.

Please note most importantly: if you are going to run your students papers through Turnitin, the student must be informed in advance about the product and its intended use by you, the lecturer.

You can use online assignments to:

This video gives an overview of how you can use Turnitin Feedback Studio to support assessment practices.

For information on the accessibility features of Turnitin Feedback Studio, please visit the Turnitin website .

Quick Guide 1: Creating a Turnitin Assignment

This Quick Guide gives IT Services' recommended settings for creating a standard Turnitin assignment in Blackboard.

Quick Guide 2: Managing Student Submissions

This Quick Guide gives IT Services' recommended settings for managing student submissions for a Turnitin assignment in Blackboard.

Quick Guide 3: Grading & Providing Feedback

This Quick Guide gives IT Services' recommended settings for grading Turnitin assignments in Blackboard.

Quick Guide 4: Releasing Results to Students

This Quick Guide gives IT Services' recommended settings for releasing Turnitin assignment results in Blackboard.

Video Overview of Feedback Studio

This video provides an overview of Feedback Studio's feedback options including annotations, rubrics and voice comments.

Interactive Feedback Studio Demo

This interactive demonstration of Feedback Studio provides an opportunity to practice using the different features such as annotations, rubrics and voice comments.

Submission Guide for Your Students

An online guide for students is also available to help them with the submission process on the Turnitin website. Refer your students to the 'Student Help' tab in Blackboard (top right of the screen after logging in) to access this and other guides on using Blackboard.

Blackboard Vs Turnitin Assignments

This interactive guide gives an overview of the pros and cons of using Blackboard or Turnitin assignments.

Procedure : if a student has issues submitting we would advise them to contact the module instructor so there is a record of this and because the instructor would need to make a determination as to whether to reset the attempt based on the different circumstances. Clearing/resetting attempts needs to be done by the instructor of a particular module in the first instance. We also strongly recommend that if there are submission issues due to account/access problems etc. with an individual student, please accept the submission via email as proof of submission until the issue is resolved. If an instructor cannot resolve the issue themselves, the instructor can contact us for advice via [email protected]

Clearing an attempt/Remove From Inbox: Typically submission problems are due to browser issues or if a student is trying to resubmit after the Due Date. If it looks to be a browser issue, please advise the student to try on another device/browser such as Chrome or Firefox. If the Due Date passes, students will be unable to resubmit so the only way to upload a new attempt is to either modify the Due Date or clear the existing attempt. If you go to the Submission Inbox for the Turnitin assignment you can locate the student's name in the list. Under the "Options" column there are three dots; click on this and select "Remove From Inbox".

Important: First click on the ‘Download’ icon to make a backup of the existing file and also make a note of the submission ID before deleting just in case of any issues. Then you can click on the Remove from Inbox option to remove the submission for the individual student.

Turnitn Paper Deletion Requests : For submissions that have been added to the 'Standard Paper Repository', you can also "Request permanent deletion" under the 'Options' column for the relevant student. Please note, Turnitin have advised that as of January 23rd 2024, approved paper deletion requests will be immediately and permanently deleted. Once approved for deletion, papers will no longer be recoverable.

To upload on behalf of a student : at the top of the inbox above the list if student names, is a search field that says 'Submit on behalf of a student.' Enter the student's name and follow the instructions to upload the file (as long as you have also allowed Late Submissions under the settings for the assignment if the Due Date has already passed). The assignment might be marked in red as late but there is no automatic deducting of marks etc. so it should not affect the submission otherwise.

Below are external links and additional resources to help you get started with Turnitin Assignments in Blackboard.

• Official Turnitin Instructor Guides
• Interpreting the Similarity Report
• Commenting Tools
• Quick Marks

In this case, brand new LTI assignments would need to be created for any previous Building Block assignments

The LTI integration can be found as an option within the Build Content drop-down menu. This is where all LTI tools integrated with Blackboard Learn are located

Email submission receipts are not currently supported with Turnitin Feedback Studio LTI integrations, however following a submission students are presented with a banner within their assignment dashboard that provides a link to download a submission receipt. They can also access their assignment dashboard at any time to download a copy of the submission receipt using the receipt icon.

Visit the module Full Grade Center on Blackboard and check that the corresponding column for the assignment and the Total column have been hidden from student view

The LTI integration offers automatic grade synchronization between the Turnitin LTI assignment inbox and the Blackboard Learn grade center by using the LTI Assignment and Grade Services.

Latest Updates:

Aenean ornare velit lacus, ac varius enim lorem ullamcorper dolore aliquam.

Help & Support

For queries related to the content on these pages please contact the Teaching & Learning IT team via: [email protected]

• [email protected]
• (000) 000-0000
• 1234 Somewhere Road #8254 Nashville, TN 00000-0000

• Instructor Help – Ultra
• Student Help – Ultra

Turnitin Assignment

Turnitin assignments through Blackboard are created in Content Areas (areas that allow the creation of items, assignments, interactive tools, etc.).

Create a Turnitin Assignment:

• Access a Content Area in your course.
• Click the Assessment button and the Turnitin Assignment link.
• In the Create Turnitin Assignment page fill in the Name (at least 3 characters long)  of the assignment, optionally add a description and attach file(s).
• In the Grading section select Enable Evaluation to be No .
• Continue by defining the Options of the assignment. In the  Options Field  select  Permit Users to View this Content  if you want to them to be able to view this assignment. Select Track Number of Views  to be able to see how many time this assignment was opened.
• Click Submit. The Turnitin assignment is added at the end of the page.
• Click on the Turnitin assignment link to activate the assignment and set its settings.
• When you click on the Turnitin assignment in order to access it after the 1st time, you will be redirected first on the Launch LTI Link and then in your Turnitin assignment

WARNING : Do not press the launch button because this will cause an error and your assignment will not launch. You will be automatically redirected to your assignment after a few seconds.

• If accessing Turnitin through Blackboard for the first time, you will be displayed with the  License Agreement  page.
• Click on the Settings button. You will see the assignment Title and add optionally Instructions .
• Set again the Max Grade , the Start date and Due Date of the Turnitin assignment. Also add the Feedback release date to be same day or the day after the Due date . In all three fields add the date, time and minutes so as to create the assignment.
• Check  Enable PeerMark  if you want to allow students to view and evaluate each other’s work.
• Click on the  gear  button to reveal the  Optional Settings  for the Turnitin assignment.
• Set the  Optional Settings  for the assignment.
• Submissions to this assignment will be stored in:

Standard paper repository. (Suggested)

Do not store the submitted papers

• In the Allow submission of any file type ? (Suggested Unchecked )
• Allow late submissions? ( Check/Uncheck ) (Suggested C hecked )
• Optionally  Add a rubric to this assignment . ( Suggested Unchecked)
• Compare submitted papers against the following sources  (Recommended to leave the default checked as shown in the picture below.)
• Generate Reports immediately (Students cannot resubmit)
• Generate Reports immediately (Students can resubmit until due date):After 3 re-submissions,reports generate after 24 hours.  (Suggested)
• Generate Reports on due date (Students can resubmit until due date)
• Exclude bibliographic materials from  Similarity Index  for all papers in this assignment? ( Check/Uncheck ) ( Suggested Checked)
• Exclude quoted materials from  Similarity Index  for all papers in this assignment? ( Check/Uncheck ) ( Suggested Unchecked)
• Exclude small sources? ( Check/Uncheck ) ( Suggested Unchecked)
• Allow students to view Similarity Reports ? ( Check/Uncheck ). ( Suggested Checked )
• Check the Save these settings for future use?  question in order to save these options and have them as default every time you create a Turnitin assignment.
• Click the  Submit  button.
• You are now led back in the Assignment Inbox. Click the content area i.e. Assignments Submission   from the path to go back to your Bb course.
• Roll over the contextual menu next to the assignment’s name
• Click on the downwards arrow that comes up

Once the Turnitin assignment is created and is available for the students, they are able to access it via the content area you have specified i.e. Assignments. The students will click on the assignment’s name and will upload their assignment. Keep in mind that students need to submit and re-submit their assignments themselves. The originality report will be generated immediately. After 3 resubmissions though, the originality report will take 24 hours.

Students need to submit their assignments themselves. The instructor has the option to re-submit a student assignment, by accessing the Turnitin Assignment Inbox and clicking under the Options  the 3 dots which will open a drop-down list, then select the Upload option.

The re-submission replaces the original submission by the student and all marks and comments are deleted.

Once file submission is over, Turnitin will generate originality reports for each one of the submitted papers.

Instructors are able to view the submitted files of the students, online. That is, view the submissions in the web browser without the need of other applications or plug-ins. The supported document types for assignment submission are MS Word (.doc, .docx), MS Powerpoint (.ppt, .pptx), MS Excel (.xls,.xlsx), and PDF (.pdf).

To see all submitted assignments and grade them visit the Turnitin environment by clicking the assignment from within your Bb course or visit the  Control Panel >   Grade Center > Full Grade Center  of your course.

Grade Assignments via the Turnitin Environment

You are able to grade Turnitin assignments directly from the Turnitin environment using the following steps:

• Access the Turnitin assignment you want to grade within a Bb course.
• Via the Turnitin environment, you can view the submissions of the students. Click the  Grade icon to be redirected to the  Assignment Grading page  and grade the assignment.
• From the  Assignment Grading page  you can comment on the student’s assignment and grade it.
• The grade you insert into the  Assignment Grading page , is immediately updated in  Blackboard’s Grade Center .

Grade Turnitin Assignments via Blackboard’s Grade Center

To grade a Turnitin assignment via the  Grade Center  of your Bb course, visit  Control Panel> Grade Center> Full Grade Center . Locate the Turnitin Assignment column and click the contextual menu next to the student’s name you wish to view and grade. Then, click the  Grade User Activity  option. You will be redirected in the Turnitin environment.

There, you are able to add grades to the assignments and then the Turnitin environment will synchronize with Blackboard’s Grade Center and will update it with the grades. Any change you perform in the grades within the Turnitin environment will be automatically updated in Blackboard’s Grade Center. Note, that the synchronization takes place only from Turnitin to Blackboard and not vice versa. Important Notice:

Do  NOT  copy Turnitin assignments from another Bb course, as this practice might cause issues with your Bb courses functionality. Instead, create a new Turnitin assignment with a unique name.

Do NOT use the same names for Blackboard and Turnitin assignments for this practice might create corruption issues with your content areas.

For additional information, you can download the Turnitin Instructor Interface manual by clicking the link below:

• Access Bb – Ultra
• BB Upgrade – Ultra
• Bb Annotate – Ultra
• Bb user account – Ultra
• Instructional Design
• MS Teams – Ultra
• Microsoft OneDrive – Ultra
• Course Menu – Ultra
• Course Management – Ultra
• Add/ Remove Content – Ultra
• Content Editor – Ultra
• External Content – Ultra
• Manage Content – Ultra
• Perlego ebooks
• Activate your VS user account
• Access your E-Textbook
• VS Bookshelf Application
• Lecture Capture – Panopto
• Connect to LinkedIn Learning
• How to add content
• LinkedIn Learning Applications
• LinkedIn Learning Support
• Course Tools
• Turnitin – Ultra
• Blackboard Assignments
• Tests, Surveys, and Pools
• Bb Test Questions Generator
• Gradebook – Ultra
• User Enrollments & Groups
• Required Utilities
• Solutions & Answers
• Blackboard Videos – Ultra

Submitting and Retrieving Work (Turnitin)

Turnitin’s Similarity Check helps instructors check students’ work for improper citation or potential plagiarism. Turnitin shows how much of the student’s paper matches content from internet resources, journals, periodicals and prior student submissions.

Submitting Your Work to a Turnitin Assignment

IMPORTANT: Before submitting your work, please note the following:

• You MUST close the application you are working in, before attempting to upload a file. If for example, you are editing a MS Word file, save it, but keep Word open, you will not be able upload the file.
• Your files size does not exceed 100MB.If your file is larger than 100MB you will not be able to upload the file.
• Use the most up to date version of Firefox if you encounter issues with other browsers.
• Note : If you are using an unsupported word processor, you may need to save your plain text file as .txt or .rtf in order to upload to Turnitin.

For step-by-step instructions on submitting your paper, please see this Turnitin help guide: Submitting Papers as a Student within Blackboard

Accessing Instructor Comments/Feedback

IMPORTANT: Grades and Comments will only be visible AFTER the date and time shown next to the word ‘Post’ on your Turnitin assignment.

1. In the course, use the navigation menu to go to the section of course where the Turnitin assignment is located.

2. Find the Turnitin assignment and click on the assignment’s name. This will open up the Turnitin submission page.

3. Click the View/Complete link, which will take you to your Turnitin Assignment Inbox

3. In your Assignment Inbox, click the View button to open the Feedback Studio.

REMEMBER : Comments will only be visible AFTER the date and time shown next to the word  Post  on your Turnitin assignment.

6. In the Feedback Studio, click the blue word bubbles for the comment you want to read. There may be several on your assignment. Your professor’s comments will pop up on the screen.

Resubmitting to an Assignment

Some instructors may allow students the ability to overwrite their previous submissions until the due date and time set for the assignment. For instructions on resubmitting your paper, please visit this Turnitin help guide: Resubmitting to an Assignment

Using PeerMark to Evaluate Your Classmates’ Work

PeerMark assignments allow you to read, review, and score or evaluate one or many papers submitted by your peers. If an instructor has created this kind of Turnitin assignment, please see this help guide to learn how to use its features: Using PeerMark to Peer Grade Other’s Work

• Skip to search form
• Skip to main content
• Go to the homepage

•  Home
• ···
• Teaching & Learning Technologies
• Assessment Systems
• Grading Support Tools
• Using Turnitin ... through Blackboard

Using Turnitin Feedback Studio through Blackboard Learn

For additional help with Feedback Studio in Blackboard, see Turnitin’s Blackboard Basic manuals . For help with Blackboard Learn beyond Turnitin, see our  Blackboard Learn pages .

For Students

If your course’s instructor has set up a Turnitin Feedback Studio assignment through Blackboard, you should be able to access the assignment through your course site. It will be in one of the content areas on the upper left; your instructor should specify which one. You should see each assignment listed separately, with a button saying View/Complete . This button will allow you to submit your assignment, whether from your hard drive or from Google Drive.

For Faculty

The Turnitin Feedback Studio consists of individual assignments that you can create in your course site that you can use to provide direct feedback to student submissions.

Creating and Editing a Turnitin Assignment (Ultra)

Creating an Assignment

Editing an Assignment

Max grade : Set a point value for the assignment to allow a grade to be set by rubrics (if used) and be sent to the grade book. For example, if you set the max grade as 100, this is the highest grade your student can receive.

Start date : The start date is the date and time students can begin submitting to the assignment.

Due date : The due date is the date and time students’ papers are due for the assignment.

Feedback release date : The feedback release date is the date and time students can begin viewing the comments and grades you have left on their papers. Feedback can only be released after the due date.

Creating and Editing a Turnitin Assignment (Original)

• Once in the content section, select Build Content .

Navigating the Feedback Studio

You can navigate through papers submitted to an assignment by looking in the top right-hand corner of the navigation frame. Here, you will find arrows to move between papers and a dropdown list that allows you to chose from all papers that have been submitted so far.

Using the navigation arrows

Using the drop-down menu

• This drop-down list informs you of all of the papers that have been submitted to an assignment so far. It shows the student’s name on the left and the paper title on the right. Clicking on any of the submissions will change the Turnitin Feedback Studio to that paper.

The Assignment Inbox - Viewing Completed Assignments

Each assignment in a class has an assignment inbox. The assignment inbox contains any submissions that have been made by students or the instructor to the assignment.

• The top menu bar has notifications, a link to our support wizard, and an option to edit the   assignment settings.
• The search bar allows you to search through the students. The drop-down allows you to view your   group and group sets.
• Select   Download All   to download all the papers. Use the check boxes next to the papers to select papers, then   Download Selected   to download these papers. This button becomes active after the first submission has been made to the assignment.

The assignment inbox is a sorted list of columns containing information regarding submissions in an assignment. The assignment inbox can be organized by any of the criteria listed – for example, clicking on the column heading name of author will sort the contents of the assignment box by author last name from A to Z. Clicking the column heading again will sort it again by the reverse of the criteria, from Z to A.

The column headings in the assignment inbox are:

Author   – A column containing the names of any enrolled students and the names given for any non-enrolled instructor uploaded papers in the assignment.

Paper Title   – The title given for any paper submitted. If there is no submission for a user, this field will list “no submission”. Clicking on the title of a paper will open the paper in the Turnitin Feedback Studio viewer.

Paper ID   – The unique numeric ID number assigned to every submission made to Turnitin. This column contains a dash if no submission was made. The paper ID is also provided to students or instructors when submitting by file upload or copy and paste as part of the digital receipt.

Uploaded   – The date of a submission. Any dates shown in red indicate a late submission made after the due date and time of an assignment. The format is day-month-year. If no submission was made after the due date/time for a student, this column shows (late) in red. If the due date has not passed, students in the class with no submissions have a dash in this column.

Viewed   – This icon indicates whether the paper has been viewed by the student. If the eye has a strike through it, the paper has not been viewed.

Grade   – The grade column indicates GradeMark image availability. A blue pencil icon indicates that a paper is ready to be graded, but has not yet been graded. A gray pencil icon that no submission was made or that GradeMark digital assessment is not available for the class or account. Once a paper is graded, the point value given to the paper will replace the pencil icon in the grade column.

Similarity   – The Similarity column contains the Similarity Report icon. The icon contains a percentage indicating the overall similarity of the paper to information in the Turnitin repositories: 100% being ‘fully similar’, 0% indicating ‘no similarity’. The icon is rectangular and contains the percentage number and the corresponding color. If only a grayed out icon is available, the report is not ready. A dash in the report column indicates no submission or that no Similarity Report is generated based on assignment settings.

Options   – This menu will allow the instructor   to submit or resubmit on behalf of students, download the submission, or delete the submission.

Using the Thumbnail Sidebar

The thumbnail bar gives you a quick overview of the paper you are currently grading

• The thumbnail bar can be accessed by clicking on the black tab in the left-hand corner of the Turnitin Feedback Studio.

Locking the thumbnail bar will prevent you from being able to close it

• To close the thumbnail bar, unlock it by clicking on the locked padlock icon, then click the black tab that was originally used to open it.

Working with Student Groups

Additional Feedback Studio Features and Support

• Originality Check shows you how much of each paper’s text matches existing text in other papers or on the web.
• When you are viewing a paper, you can use GradeMark to grade it within Turnitin, including QuickMarks for frequently used comments.
• Originality Check and GradeMark are now integrated together in the new Feedback Studio interface. Click on a paper to view it in Feedback Studio.
• Feedback Studio Instructor User Manual
• Feedback Studio Student User Manual
• Feedback Studio Demo Site (no login required)

USC Keep Teaching

The Digital Campus

Breadcrumb Navigation

Overview video.

Create, edit, and grade Turnitin assignments in Blackboard.

Step-by-Step Videos

Create turnitin assignment.

Learn how to create a TurnitIn assignment.

Edit TurnitIn Assignment

Learn how to edit a TurnitIn assignment.

Grade TurnitIn Assignment

Learn how to grade a TurnitIn assignment.

Tutorials & Handouts

Commonly used tools.

• eLearning Demo Videos for Faculty Part 1
• eLearning Demo Videos for Faculty Part 2
• Entering Text on the Course Page
• Creating Content Folders
• How To Post An Announcement | Handout
• How to Send an Email to all Students in Your Course
• Creating and Editing Assignments
• Grading Assignments
• How to Create a Discussion Forum
• How to Create a Discussion Board Post
• How to Reply to a Post

Pre-recorded Training Sessions

• Getting Started to eLearning
• Blackboard Collaborate Web conferencing
• Online Tests
• Course Building Basics
• Group Courses by Term on your eLearning Homepage
• How to Use Activity Streams
• Course Menu Customization
• Photo Roster | Handout
• Where to go to Grade Assignments and Tests
• Viewing the course as a Student (Student Preview Mode)

Content Creation Tools

Using microsoft teams and stream for course lectures.

• How to Create a Channel Meeting for your Course
• How to Create a Private Meeting
• How to Pre-Record a Lecture for Asynchronous Delivery Using Microsoft Teams
• How to Conduct Office Hours Using Teams
• Stream (Classic) vs. Stream (on SharePoint)
• Recording a Video Using Microsoft Stream (on SharePoint)
• Uploading a Video in Stream (on SharePoint)
• Sharing a Video in Stream (on SharePoint)
• For more information, please visit the OIT Microsoft Teams webpage and OIT Microsoft Stream webpage

Course Menu

• What is the Course Menu?
• How to Hide/Restore the Course Menu
• How to Add a New Area for Content in the Course Menu | Handout

Adding Content

• How to Add a Syllabus to a Course | Handout
• How to Add A Weblink in eLearning
• How to Create a Virtual Whiteboard in ELEARNING (by Dr. Richard Golden).

Managing Content

• Adding Tool Links To Course Menu
• How to Reorder a Course Menu
• How to Add a New Area for Content in the Course Menu
• Copying content from an old course to a new course
• Renaming Contents
• Applying Adaptive Release Rules
• Blackboard Ally

Copying and Updating Courses

• How To Copy Content From An Old Course To A New Course
• How to update a course for the new semester

Content Collection

• Overview Of The Content Collection
• How to Share Files from Content Collection with Multiple Courses

Communication Tools

Announcements.

• Where Students See An Announcement That You've Posted
• How To Schedule An Announcement In Advance

Course Messages

• What are Course Messages?
• How to Add the Messages Tool to Your Course | Handout
• How to Send a Message to Your Students
• How to Reply to a Message
• UT Dallas Email vs Messages - What's the difference?

Email via eLearning

• What is the UT Dallas Email tool in eLearning?
• How to Send a Select Users Email
• Email vs Messages

Blackboard Collaborate Ultra (Web conferencing)

• Getting Started: Setup (PDF)
• Blackboard Collaborate Ultra interaction attendee list
• Blackboard Collaborate Ultra interaction chats
• Blackboard Collaborate Ultra My Settings
• Blackboard Collaborate Ultra My Status and Setting and Session Menu
• Blackboard Collaborate Ultra Share Whiteboard and Files
• Blackboard’s Collaborate Session Best Practices
• Accessing Blackboard Collaborate Recordings
• How to Mark Attendance in a Blackboard Collaborate Session
• How to Sync Attendance tool with Blackboard Collaborate
• How to review attendance in Collaborate
• Tracking Student Times in Collaborate
• Handout: Tracking Student Times
• How to run polls: Part 1 | Part 2
• How to open breakout groups
• How to manage breakout groups

Student Engagement Tools

Discussion boards.

• How to Read Posts on a Discussion Board
• How to Create a Gradable Discussion Board Forum
• How to Grade Student Posts
• How Students see their Discussion Board Grades
• Adding a Discussion Board Link in the Course Menu | Handout
• How to Create a blog
• How to Create a blog entry
• How to Grade a blog
• How to Create and manage wikis
• How to Create and edit wikis
• How to Grade a Wiki
• How to create Journal entries
• How to add journal entries
• How to grade journal entries
• Working with Portfolios - Faculty & Student Guide
• How to create groups
• How to create self-enroll groups
• How students enroll in a self-enroll Group
• How to create a group assignments
• How to grade group assignments
• Enabling Collaborate for Groups
• Letting groups record Collaborate sessions
• How students use Collaborate inside groups

Assessment Tools

Assignments.

• How Students Submit Assignments

Turnitin Assignments

• How to Create Turnitin Assignments in eLearning | Handout
• How Students Submit Turnitin Assignments in eLearning | Handout
• How Instructors Can Submit Turnitin Assignments on Students’ Behalf in eLearning | Handout
• How to Grade Turnitin Assignments in eLearning | Handout
• Exporting a Rubric from a Class and Importing a Rubric into a Different Class (PDF)
• Adding a Rubric to an Assignment (PDF)
• Intro to creating Tests
• Creating Question Pools
• Building a Test
• Deploying a Test
• Student Preview and Grading
• Copying tests to other courses
• Adding Exceptions to Tests
• Applying a LockDown Browser
• Accessing the Test Access Log
• Checklist for Setting up an Online Proctored Exam in eLearning
• How to add a rubric
• How to grade using a rubric
• Uploading a Multiple Choice Test into eLearning using Respondus
• Converting online test from eLearning to paper tests

Self & Peer Evaluations

• Instructions for Instructors Part 1 Part 2
• Instructions for Students Part 1 Part 2

Grade Center

• How to Access the Grade Center | Handout
• Smart Views in the Grade Center
• How to Create a Column in the Grade Center
• How to Enter Grades in the Grade Center
• How to See the Grade History of a Specific Student's Grade
• How to Edit Grades Offline

Reporting Tests

• Reporting Options for Tests Part 1
• Reporting Options for Tests Part 2

Course Evaluation and Reports

Retention Center Part 1: Access

Retention Center Part 2: Customization

Additional Blackboard Videos

Additional Videos from Blackboard also available .

Blackboard and Digital Learning

• Introduction to Blackboard and Digital Learning
• NEW: Blackboard Ultra
• NEW: Turnitin (Blackboard Ultra)
• Introduction to Turnitin (Blackboard Ultra)

File Size, format, and name of your submission

How to find your assignment, how to submit your work, how to download your digital receipt, how to resubmit a file, how to view your grade and feedback, how to view your similarity report.

• Blackboard Assignments
• NEW: Blackboard Assignments (Blackboard Ultra)
• Microsoft 365 This link opens in a new window
• LinkedIn Learning This link opens in a new window
• Assess Your Digital Capabilities This link opens in a new window

NEW: Turnitin (Blackboard Ultra) 

This page provides guidance for submitting assignments Turnitin when using Blackboard Ultra.  Most University modules are not moving to Blackboard Ultra until September 2024 (May 2024 for online programmes). Unless you have been informed your module has already moved to Ultra, please follow the standard guidance for Turnitin.

Turnitin is an originality checking and plagiarism prevention service that checks your work for citation mistakes or inappropriate copying. When you submit your paper, Turnitin compares it to text in its extensive database of student work, websites, books, articles, etc.

At the University of Derby, Turnitin is integrated into Blackboard so you will access Turnitin via our online submission tool within your module in Blackboard.

Before submitting your work, please note:

• Files must be less than 100MB
• Files must have at least 20 words of text 
• The maximum paper length is 800 pages. 
• File types allowed: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, WordPerfect, PostScript, PDF, HTML, RTF, OpenOffice (ODT), Hangul (HWP) and Google Docs. To generate a similarity report, plain text PDFs must be in a format where the text is selectable (i.e. not scanned). You may be able to upload files of other types if your tutor has allowed, but these files will not have a similarity report generated. 
• The filename of your submission should not include your name.

The University’s Anonymous Marking policy states that, unless otherwise told by your tutor: 

• You should only include your Student ID number in any submission you make in Turnitin. 

In general, assignment submissions for written work should be located in your module in Blackboard, in the ‘Module Assessment and Submission’ area.  

1. Log in to Blackboard and navigate to your module. 

2. Find the submission point and click on it. The submission point should be located in the Module Assessment and Submission section, usually within the assessment or coursework folder.

3. The Turnitin assignment area will open.

1. When ready, select Upload Submission

Add a submission title for your file. Then select the type of submission you want to make:

• Upload Submission: to upload a file from your computer, click the Choose file to locate and select the file you want to upload.  
• Text Input: allows you to type your submission directly into the submission (not recommended).
• Cloud Submission: to upload a file saved in your cloud storage, click on Cloud Submission then the cloud service where your file is stored.  (You may need to enter your username and password to allow access to your cloud storage.)

Please note: In accordance with the anonymous marking policy, the Submission Title must be your student number.

2. Once you have entered or uploaded your work click upload and review

Please ensure that your submission filename does not contain your name.

3.  Review the file you are about to submit, if the submission is correct click Submit to Turnitin : If you selected the wrong file, click Cancel Submission , and try again. 

4. Wait until submission is confirmed.  A message will appear on the screen saying the submission is complete.

The window will close automatically, and you can now view details of the submission.

Further Information on Submitting your Work

You may be able to upload a new version and overwrite a previous submission. To do this, click on the resubmit button, an image of an arrow pointing upwards and located on the right of the submission, and go through the upload process again.

Once the Feedback Release date has passed, you will be able to view the feedback.  Click on your submission document title. This will open the feedback screen. 

From the feedback screen (feedback studio), you might have to click on the feedback section, a comment bubble on the right of the feedback, to view your feedback.

The feedback would appear in the blue right-hand side section of the feedback window which could include text comments, voice comments and a rubric. You may also have feedback directly on your submission, which will appear as text inserted or a comment bubble icon (click a bubble comment to view the comment). To view this feedback click on each bubble icon.

Remember that your grade is provisional and subject to change during the moderation process.  

Further Guidance on Viewing your Feedback

Your tutor may allow you to see the similarity report. The similarity report is a plagiarism checker. Don’t worry if you have more than 0% as it’s likely that things like references and quotes are also being checked. 

If your tutor has allowed you to view the Originality Report for the assignment, the Similarity index will be displayed as a number in the similarity red bar, located on the right-hand side of your submission, just below the main feedback comment bubble.

Click on it to open and view the full similarity report.

Further Guidance on Viewing your Similarity Report

• << Previous: Turnitin
• Next: Blackboard Assignments >>
• Last Updated: May 16, 2024 10:52 AM
• URL: https://libguides.derby.ac.uk/c.php?g=708630

Web Request Blocked

Your request has been identified as a security risk and has been blocked by TeamDynamix. If you believe the request is valid, please report the blocked web request. You'll need to include the Blocked Request Url and Support ID in your report.

Nurturing integrity: How to support students under academic pressure

By completing this form, you agree to Turnitin's Privacy Policy . Turnitin uses the information you provide to contact you with relevant information. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time.

The impact of academic pressure on students’ mental health needs to be on every institution’s agenda. As May marks Mental Health Month in the US and Mental Health Week in the UK, it seems timely to turn our attention to the interplay between academic pressure, student mental health, and the risk of misconduct.

There’s a growing body of evidence to suggest a correlation between negative emotions and unethical academic conduct. At a time when student mental health is in crisis, educators have an opportunity to support students to better emotional well-being and improve academic integrity. But how?

In this article, you’ll find actionable advice on nurturing academic integrity in students at risk of misconduct due to academic stress. Before we begin, we’re mindful that discussions surrounding academic integrity don't inadvertently stigmatize individuals dealing with mental health challenges.

It's important to recognize that not everyone experiencing mental health concerns engages in academic misconduct – and that attributing unethical behavior solely to mental health struggles oversimplifies a complex issue.

However, fostering a supportive environment that promotes both mental well-being and academic integrity is essential to help students achieve their best work.

What is academic pressure?

Academic pressure is the feeling of stress and anxiety that most students experience during their academic life. For many, it can be a mild and motivating sensation, driving them to work hard and achieve their goals. But, for others, it can be crushing.

Students who experience academic stress may struggle with lower educational attainment, suffer from anxiety and depression, and drop out of education. This has long-term consequences for their mental health and ability to sustain employment, leaving both individuals and the economy counting the cost (Pascoe, Hetrick, and Parker, 2019 ).

What are the sources of academic pressure?

Adolescents, young adults, and even more mature students, are navigating a highly competitive landscape – from school exams and college admissions processes, to graduate schemes and the wider job market. From an early age, young people can feel their achievements define their entire future. Whether we mean it to or not, our society puts them under significant pressure.

Students may also feel pressure from parents, family, peers, and educational institutions to achieve specific academic standards. If they internalize these expectations, they may hold themselves to unrealistic standards, resulting in debilitating perfectionism and fear of failure. Pinch points in the year can include exams and assignment deadlines.

Add in the educational and social disruption caused by COVID-19 for a significant proportion of the current academic cohort and it’s clear why today’s students are so stressed out.

Of course, not all academic pressure on students comes from these sources. Failing to prioritize academic pursuits, overcommitment to extracurricular activities, and struggling with academic work can also cause pressure on students.

How does academic pressure affect student conduct?

When people experience intense academic pressure, they may resort to misconduct to relieve the stress and anxiety they’re feeling.

However, the relief can be short-lived. Misconduct can become a source of guilt and further anxiety – or create an expectation of ongoing high attainment – which exacerbates the cycle of pressure and unethical behavior.

Academic research and literature analysis have shown that academic stress can trigger academic misconduct (Ali and Aboelmaged, 2021 ) and that plagiarism can be linked to pressures and anxieties associated with the student experience (Lodhia, 2018 ).

More recently, researchers asked participants to rate 23 possible reasons for cheating on assignments. Feeling anxious or depressed were among the most strongly endorsed reasons for cheating (Ives, 2020 ).

The impact of academic pressure on students’ mental health

The links between mental health, academic pressure, and misconduct are complex. This article does not intend to imply that all students with mental health concerns will engage in misconduct, nor that misconduct is always a result of poor emotional well-being.

However, there is a proven link between students' stress and the propensity to unethical academic behavior. Understanding and addressing this empathetically will help institutions improve academic integrity and support students to achieve their potential.

High levels of academic stress and pressure can contribute to mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. In some cases, students may resort to academic misconduct, such as cheating or plagiarism, to cope with the pressure to perform well.

However, academic pressure on students can also result from mental health challenges, such as perfectionism and fear of failure.

Low mood can impair a student's judgment and decision-making abilities, putting them at higher risk of impulsive unethical behavior. It can also manifest as apathy or lethargy, causing them to procrastinate and delay their work, leading to misconduct to catch up at a later date.

Low self-esteem can lead students to doubt their abilities to succeed academically without resorting to plagiarism or other forms of misconduct.

Fortunately, there are proactive steps that institutions can take to address academic pressure, integrity, and mental health issues, to nurture academic integrity in students at risk of misconduct.

How to nurture integrity in students experiencing academic pressure

Academic pressure on students can be a positive and motivating force, so the idea isn’t to eliminate it. However, recognizing the long-term negative consequences of excessive academic pressure – and the correlation between mental health issues and academic integrity – it needs to be on institutions’ agenda.

A preventative approach is better than a punitive one when it comes to mental health. We recommend the following steps to support and educate students and resolve misconduct resulting from academic pressure.

1. Support students experiencing academic pressure

Advocate for better mental health support for students

Given the correlations between academic pressure, mental health, and academic integrity, student support services are integral to reducing the risk of misconduct.

In a survey from the Association of School and College Leaders , 98% of UK secondary school headteachers report having students who struggled with exams due to mental health issues – including anxiety (89%), stress (85%) and depression (80%).

A study by the American Psychological Association found 87% of US college students cited education as their primary source of stress – and Student Minds states that one in four students report having a diagnosed mental health issue while at university.

In this wider context, it’s clear that many ‘cheaters’ are actually deeply struggling students. As educators, student mental well-being needs to be a priority.

Encourage students to declare mental health support needs

3.7% of all UK university applicants now declare a mental health condition – up from 0.7% in 2011. However, according to Starting the Conversation, UCAS Report on Student Mental Health , of the estimated 40,000 students with an existing mental health condition who entered HE in 2020, over half chose not to share this information with their university or college.

Declaring a mental health diagnosis during the application process can ensure timely interaction with support services and help prevent students from experiencing worsening symptoms. Institutions should present the process of disclosure ‘as a positive and empowering step giving students independence and agency in managing their own mental health and wellbeing’, says UCAS.

Targeted action is required in subject areas with below-average declaration rates, where applicants may worry it will impact their chances of acceptance, such as medicine and dentistry.

Improve interaction between academics and support services

Given the interplay between academic pressure and academic integrity, student support services and academic departments must work closely together to ensure optimum outcomes for students.

However, research finds the two areas are often siloed or even in dispute. Student Minds research found that most academics understand that Student Services don’t communicate with them for confidentiality reasons. However, they are concerned that Student Service professionals don’t always understand issues of academic integrity and occasionally undermine academic credibility.

Various academic studies address the question of the ethics around student disclosures of misconduct to mental health professionals (Taylor and Wilford, 2013 ) and explore the limits of confidentiality when misconduct is declared alongside mental health crisis (Dickstein, 2011 ).

To help institutions tackle this challenge, Student Minds recommends regular communication and improved understanding between academics and Student Services through structured engagement, regular contact, and a shared sense of purpose.

2. Educate students on academic pressure and integrity

Provide support for managing academic pressure

Academic pressure on students is not always a result of family pressure or internalized societal expectations. It can also result from under-developed study skills, such as poor time management, procrastination, or failure to prioritize effectively. Institutions can help relieve academic pressure by providing training in these areas.

They can also provide students with self-access support tools for managing academic pressure and achieving their personal best – such as organizational skills, goal setting, stress management, resolving interpersonal conflict, study-life balance, the importance of exercise and sleep, and self-care.

Educate students on what constitutes misconduct

Recent research concluded that lack of education on academic integrity can indirectly increase its prevalence (Sbaffi and Zhao, 2022 ). Providing education on academic integrity can help students avoid accidental misconduct or plagiarism by providing clear guidelines to work within.

Institutions should:

• Provide clear guidelines on academic integrity, including definitions of plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of misconduct
• Help students navigate the evolving ethical landscape of AI and plagiarism
• Foster a culture of academic honesty through discussions , case studies, and examples of ethical behavior
• Show why academic integrity is important in learning – for example, building invaluable skills like critical thinking and problem-solving

Equip students with the tools for original work

Of course, students don’t just need guidance on what NOT to do. This needs to be balanced with training on conducting original research, proper citation methods, research ethics, information literacy, problem-solving, and creative thinking.

For example, research has found creative thinking has a positive impact on academic integrity, and education in creative thinking can reduce the occurrence of academic misconduct (Eshet and Margaliot, 2022 ).

Whereas, graduate students who lack innovative behavior may be unable to complete their academic tasks, leading to academic pressure, which then becomes a motivation for engaging in academic misconduct (Peng Su and Mu He, 2023 ).

3. Resolve academic misconduct fairly

Identify the root cause of misconduct

The causes of academic misconduct are wide-ranging and it’s important to ascertain whether students have engaged in unethical behavior due to mental and emotional health issues – or for other reasons. This will determine how you manage the allegation and reach a resolution.

For example, for students in a mental health crisis, it may be appropriate to implement an enhanced support package for students to minimize negative emotions and embrace academia with new enthusiasm. But for students engaging in misconduct for other reasons, it may be more appropriate to pair support and education with accountability measures and discipline.

Provide empathetic support for students suspected of misconduct

Some academics admit maintaining a ‘healthy skepticism’ about students’ self-diagnosis of mental health issues in the face of academic pressure ( Student Minds ). However, institutions must approach such matters with empathy.

Mental health statistics show that students are struggling more today than in the past – and it isn’t because they’re so-called snowflakes. Under the shadow cast by COVID-19, they’re navigating education and independence in a time of intense competition, economic uncertainty, and grade scrutiny.

Institutions need to understand the intense pressures students face to build trust with students and deal with misconduct in a way that improves student mental health rather than undermines it further.

Reinforce processes for misconduct linked to mental health

Balancing student/counselor confidentiality with the need for academic integrity is challenging. Research into misconduct disclosures from students experiencing mental health crises recommends four actions for improving how these situations are resolved.

• For institutions to have a comprehensive set of processes and procedures that can withstand a legal challenge, plus multiple options for addressing student misbehavior
• For administrators to be keenly aware of legal renderings such as student privacy issues and under what circumstances it is appropriate to release information to others
• A well-trained, trusting, and collaborative multidisciplinary crisis response team
• Committing time and resources to develop a systemic approach to resolving incidents of mental health crisis and misconduct

Key takeaways: How to support students under academic pressure

Academic pressure and student mental health are linked – and both leave vulnerable students at higher risk of academic misconduct.

Approaching this issue with sensitivity and empathy is essential so that educators can support at-risk individuals to achieve better well-being and higher academic integrity.

Timely mental health support can help students reduce their academic stress levels and risk of misconduct – which can lead to further improvements in self-esteem and emotional well-being.