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Turnitin at Penn State Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q: Who is allowed to set up and use accounts at Turnitin.com?
A:  Penn State faculty, Graduate Assistants,or staff who teach a bona fide Penn State course may create accounts at Turnitin.com.

Q: How do I create an account?
A:  You will need the Penn State Turnitin ID and password. This password can be obtained by downloading the Penn State QuickStart document from https://www.work.psu.edu/access/turnitin/, sending an email to turnitin@psu.edu, or from your college dean, department head, or unit leader.  Once you obtain the Penn State Turnitin ID and password, log on to http://turnitin.psu.edu, select “instructor” level, click Next and follow the prompts. Complete directions are available at http://its.psu.edu/turnitin/Faculty.html.

Q: The account/class ID and password I have for creating an instructor’s account at Turnitin.com don’t work.  All I get is an error message.
A:  Be sure you are entering the ID and password correctly.  The ID is a number.  The password has upper and lower case letters as well as numbers and two exclamation points.The exclamation points are part of the password provided and omitting the exclamation points is the most common cause of the problem.If you are sure you entered the information correctly but are still getting an error message, try using a different browser.  If you are still having problems, please contact us at Turnitin@psu.edu.  Only Penn State Access Account e-mail addresses will be accepted by this account.

Q: How do I add my students to the class account I created?
A:  You can give the class ID and enrollment password (NOT the Penn State Turnitin ID and password for creating an account) to your students and have them enroll themselves, or you can enroll individual students or groups of students by uploading a file. Complete directions are available at http://its.psu.edu/turnitin/Faculty.html.  You can add students to your class individually or by uploading a student list in MS Word, MS Excel, or plain text format.

To add a single student to your class:

Click the students tab. Click the add student link, enter the student's email address and name, and click submit. The student will appear on your students list. If a student does not have a Turnitin user profile, the Turnitin system will generate a profile and email the information to the student.

To upload a student list to your class:

Click the upload student list link.

On the following page, click browse and navigate to the MS Word, MS Excel, or plain text document where you stored your student list. The names on the list must be in this format (one student per line): firstname, lastname, email address. For example:

john, doe, jxd48@psu.edu

Click submit to upload the student list. Once you confirm that the names and email addresses contained in the text file are correct, the students will appear on your students list. If a student does not have a Turnitin user profile, the Turnitin system will generate a profile and email the information to the student.

The date you enrolled the student will appear in a different color until the student logs in for the first time. If you want to resend the enrollment email to the student, you can do so by clicking the linked enrollment date.

To allow students to enroll themselves:

You can also give students in your class the class ID and class enrollment password and have them enroll themselves.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of students that can be enrolled in a Turnitin class?
A: There is no limit to the number of students enrolled in a single class, however, Turnitin limits the number of students that can be uploaded at one time to 100 names. For classes with more than 100 students, multiple lists can be uploaded. There is also a limit of one instructor per class, regardless of class size.

If you would like to use Turnitin.com with a large enrollment course, you have two options:

To create a master class click the link on your "my classes" page to "add a class." On the next screen, select to create a new "master class" from the drop down menu instead of a "standard class." Complete the rest of the information and click the "submit" button.

For more information about setting up a large enrollment course, please refer to pages 129 to 136 of the Turnitin Instructor User Manual available at http://turnitin.com/static/pdf/InstructorManual.pdf.

Q: Is it possible to add my TA to one or more of my classes?
A: Yes, it is possible to add a TA to a class or classes by creating a master class. To create a master class, follow the steps for creating a class, but select "master class" instead of "standard class" from the pull down menu. Assignments can be added to the master class homepage and are then available to all of the sections of the master course. For more information about creating master classes, see pages 129 to 130 of the Instructor User Manual available at http://turnitin.com/static/pdf/InstructorManual.pdf.

Q: How do I submit papers?
A:  Papers can be submitted by either the instructor or the student, depending on the settings you choose when you create a class.  Instructors can submit papers one at a time, or in batches.

To submit papers, log on to Turnitin.psu.edu, click on the name of the class you set up, then click the "Submit" icon for the assignment for which you want to submit papers.

Q: How can I select additional settings for the type of resources against which the papers will be checked?
A: When creating assignments, you can see additional choices for settings by selecting "yes" as the answer to the question, "Show advanced assignment options?" Using the available advanced options, you can select the type of comparative resources against which the papers will be checked as well as several other submission options.If you are interested in changing the settings for an existing assignment, click the assignment name. For additional information on Advanced Assignment options, see pages 16 to 19 of the Instructor User Manual available at http://turnitin.com/static/pdf/InstructorManual.pdf.

Q: How do students submit their own papers?
A:  Students will need the class ID and enrollment password (NOT the Penn State Turnitin ID and password for creating an account) to create a Turnitin account and access the class space set up by the instructor.  The class ID is assigned by Turnitin.com; the class password is set by the instructor.  Once a student has set up an account, she will have access to the class space and can submit papers.  For more details, please read the Student Quick Start Guide, which is available at http://www.turnitin.com/static/pdf/tii_student_qs.pdf .

Q: Do students have the choice of attaching a document or cutting and pasting text?
A: Yes. Students can select the file upload option or the cut and paste option.

Q: How do I know if a student is cheating or not?
A:  After papers are submitted, the Turnitin system creates an Originality Report for each file. Complete information about accessing and interpreting Originality Reports is available at http://its.psu.edu/turnitin/Faculty.html.The Originality Report indicates that there is copied text. The instructor must still evaluate each assignment submission to determine whether the copied material has been cited correctly.

Q: How does an instructor give students access to their Originality Reports?
A:  Please refer to pages 144 to 145of the Instructor User Manual (http://turnitin.com/static/pdf/InstructorManual.pdf). The instructor guide explains the steps for giving students access to their Originality Reports.

Q: What kinds of Internet files are searched by Turnitin.com?
A:  Turnitin.com searches MS Word, HTML, WordPerfect,RTF, PDF, plain text, and PostScript.

Q: What kind of document can Turnitin check?
A: Turnitin checks MS Word, WordPerfect, PostScript, PDF, HTML, RTF, and plain text documents.  Turnitin.com does not check files in graphic formats such as TIFF, EPS, PSD, JPEG, PICT, etc.

Q: How is plagiarism defined at Penn State?
A:  Plagiarism is the act of stating or implying that another person’s work is your own.  For more information see http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/cyberplag/cyberplagstudent.html and http://its.psu.edu/turnitin/Faculty.html.  Instructors should consider how they will determine whether an apparent instance of plagiarism is accidental or intentional, what percentage of plagiarism (either accidental or intentional) will be tolerated, and what the consequences will be.  These criteria may vary from course to course and assignment to assignment.

Q: Can students submit multiple drafts of an assignment without having the drafts compared against their previous submission(s)?
A:  If your students have already submitted their papers to an assignment and you want to let them submit another draft, you can create a revision assignment. When a student submits a paper to a revision assignment, the submission is not compared against the student's previous submissions.For additional information on revision assignments, see pages 19 to 20 of the Instructor User Manual available at http://turnitin.com/static/pdf/InstructorManual.pdf.

To create a revision assignment:
Click the create a new assignment link. On the assignment creation page, choose revision assignment from the create a new: pulldown menu at the top of the assignment form. Choose a paper assignment using the based on paper assignment pulldown menu on the revision form. The revision will be added to the assignment you have selected. Click the submit button to add the revision to your class homepage.

Q: How do I view the items submitted to a class?
A:  Click the inbox icon to open an assignment’s inbox. To read a paper, click the paper’s title.

Q: How do I view all of one student’s submissions?
A:  To view all submissions by a student in your class, click the students tab to open your students page. Click on the name of the student to open a portfolio containing all of his or her submissions to your class.

Q: If the copied material indicated in the Originality Report is from an Internet source, is it possible to see the actual text of the document?
A: Yes. First, you would need to click on the color box indicating the percentage of copied material in the paper. While viewing the Originality Report, click on the link to the copied material and the text from the original source will be displayed.

Q: I forgot my class enrollment password.  How can I access this information?
A:  Click the stats icon to view your class enrollment password. You can change your enrollment password by updating a class or section. To update a class or section, click the update icon.