SafeAssign is among the most mysterious plagiarism checkers on the market, because it’s not available to students or individuals. It’s exclusive to schools and colleges, and it remains among the top plagiarism checkers with a solid reputation among professors and school administrators.
Still, most students can’t wrap their heads around it. What does SafeAssign do? Does SafeAssign check previously submitted work? And how to submit a paper to SafeAssign? Today, I’ll answer all these questions and explain why a high similarity score does not mean you’ll be suspended or expelled.
Does SafeAssign Check Previously Submitted Work?
Yes, the SafeAssign plagiarism checker compares your papers to previously submitted works, stored in its huge database that’s been around since the 1990s. The only way to get around it is to select “Exclude submissions from the Institutional and Global References Databases” when uploading your piece, if the option is available. In this case, the draft will be compared to the database, but it won’t be added to it, so any future essays submitted will not be compared to this draft.
What Files Does SafeAssign Check and Detect?
In a nutshell, SafeAssign removes all “filler” words from your text (pronouns, articles, etc.), transforms it into lowercase, and breaks it down into small chunks. Then, the algorithm compares these chunks to the pieces stored in its database and highlights the sections that match it exactly or closely. SafeAssign then provides a link to the original piece for comparison.
According to the Blackboard help center, SafeAssign plagiarism checker accepts files in the following formats:
- DOC
- DOCX
- ODT
- RTF
- HTML
You can also paste the full text of your paper into the relevant box on the submission page, if it’s available.
If you upload a paper in another format, it will not go through a SafeAssign check, but it’s not a valid way to avoid suspicions, since it will raise red flags and make your professors question your academic integrity.
What Doesn’t SafeAssign Detect?
Now that we’ve covered the answer to “What does SafeAssign check?”, let’s see if it’s really the ultimate anti-plagiarism tool. Like every plagiarism checker, it has its limitations. For example, SafeAssign results for scanning texts in languages other than English are imprecise due to the low volume of data. Moreover, Japanese support is extremely limited.
Besides, SafeAssign cannot tell when a paper you submit is written by a professional writer from speedypaper.com or essaymarket.net. Experts from reputable writing services create original pieces that don’t match anything in the Global Reference Database, so your overall risk and similarity score will be well below the acceptable 15%.
When Should You Use SafeAssign?
It’s not up to students to choose when to use SafeAssign. The SafeAssign checker is usually integrated with a school-wide LMS. Professors can enable it for individual submissions, making the plagiarism check a mandatory part of the graded assignment. Most schools require all homework assignments to pass a plagiarism check, but some also check test and quiz responses.
How Do You Submit an Assignment Using SafeAssign?
If you’re wondering how to submit a paper to SafeAssign, you probably expect it to be no different from other services, like Grammarly or Quetext plagiarism checker. However, it’s not publicly available to individual users. Instead, it’s an LMS add-on that can be enabled on an institutional level.
If your professor enables the SafeAssign check, you’ll see the notification on the Upload Assignment page. Depending on your submission type, you can either type in the text in the text box or upload the file from your computer. After you add all relevant information to your assignment, press the Submit button and wait for results.
There’s usually a short delay between your submission and the availability of the Originality Report. So, how long does it take SafeAssign to generate a report? In most cases, the reports will be ready in 10 to 15 minutes.
What Happens if SafeAssign Finds Plagiarism?
To understand the implications, you must understand the answer to “How does SafeAssign work?” When SafeAssign check returns a high risk of plagiarism and a high overall text similarity score, it doesn’t mean you instantly fail the class. It’s not grounds for suspension or expulsion.
For one, a SafeAssign plagiarism report is not direct proof of plagiarism. Your instructor must assess it, review the sources your paper matches, and evaluate your citations. They can exclude the portions of the text including citations from the overall text similarity score and lower your risk of plagiarism.
In some cases, the SafeAssign paper check can return false positive results. For example, if you check your essay using TurnItIn, SafeAssign will have a 100% similarity score, because both services use the same database.
Ultimately, your professor will decide how to proceed. You will either need to rework your assignment to lower the similarity score or rewrite it from scratch.
Does SafeAssign Check for AI?
No, the SafeAssign paper check does not work for AI. This software’s main focus is identifying precise and close matches between the new papers and past submissions to locate potential plagiarism. AI algorithms help students rewrite or generate original pieces that do not raise red flags in plagiarism checkers. That’s why most schools use tools like SafeAssign checker in tandem with specialized AI detection software.
Benefits of Using SafeAssign
Now that you know the answers to “How does SafeAssign work?” and what it means for you, let’s go over a few reasons why it’s worth using this plagiarism checker:
- Practice for citing sources in academic papers. Plagiarism checkers show students which fragments of their papers require citations.
- Understand proper use of quotes and paraphrasing. SafeAssign check will highlight both and remind of the need to cite the sources.
- Train students to recognize improper referencing. Instructors can use SafeAssign plagiarism reports in classes as study guides and examples.
- Deter academic dishonesty. Schools use SafeAssign and other checkers to encourage students to adhere to the Honor Code and avoid cheating.
- Build a school culture of academic integrity. Knowing that every paper goes through a plagiarism check encourages students to avoid cheating.
- Prevent future cheating. The larger the SafeAssign database becomes, the harder it gets for students to plagiarise in the future, so every submission counts.
- Promote confidence in students. Transparent SafeAssign check for plagiarism should make students feel more confident and safe from accusations of academic dishonesty.
- Evaluate the students’ progress. Integrating SafeAssign into the school LMS helps instructors follow the students’ progress through their text similarity scores.
- Discourage the use of other plagiarism checkers. SafeAssign is more advanced than run-of-the-mill web content checkers, like Quetext or Grammarly.
- Make life easier for teachers and administrators. A unified and automated approach to plagiarism checking ensures that all students are treated equally and without discrimination.
Conclusion
SafeAssign is a powerful plagiarism checker with a huge academic paper database and impressive capabilities. However, it’s not perfect. It doesn’t detect AI-generated content, nor does it recognize papers written by professional writers. And while schools can use dedicated AI detectors to prevent cheating, there’s no way to identify the papers you buy. So, if you’re desperate to beat SafeAssign, check the best services vetted by ScamFighter.
