Turnitin is a web-based text-matching software that checks the originality of written student assignments against a range of publicly available sources such as internet data, previous student assignments, and publications databases. When students submit their assignments electronically, Turnitin produces a similarity report highlighting any sections of text in the submitted assignment that match other sources. In addition, Turnitin also supports the assessment process through digital marking and grading and providing student feedback.

At Southern Cross University, Turnitin is commonly used in the following three ways:

To generate similarity reports that support the university's Academic Integrity Framework.
To provide digital marking and grading through the use of Turnitin rubrics.
To provide student feedback through QuickMarks and voice comments.

The following video provides a brief overview of these three use cases:

Turnitin is not plagiarism detecting software. Turnitin does not have the capacity to make any judgements about the nature of the matched text it identifies; Turnitin cannot tell whether paraphrasing, summarising or referencing are implemented correctly. This means it is up to teaching staff (and students) to carefully interpret similarity reports based on their understanding of disciplinary writing conventions and academic integrity.

Understanding the text-matching software policy

Southern Cross University policy states that Turnitin text-matching software must be used in all units for student written assessment - unless the Associate Dean (Education), in consultation with the relevant course coordinator and unit assessor, grants an exemption. Turnitin text-matching checks are also required before higher degree theses are submitted for examination.

More Information about Academic Integrity

For more information about the Southern Cross university Academic Integrity Policies, please visit the following policy documents:

Support with Turnitin

The following knowledge base articles provide support with the use of Turnitin.

Turnitin Known Issues

Turnitin also maintains a known issues page about the Blackboard Turnitin LTI, which is worth checking before grading work.

(Please note - it's better to refer to the Online version rather than export, as it's always up to date)