1. I received an email stating my submission was not evaluated for content and there are originality concerns.  What can I do?

• Review the Turnitin report to see the issues.
• Contact a Student or Course Mentor for assistance.
• Contact a member of the Originality Support Team (originalitysupport@wgu.edu)
• Contact the WGU Writing Center (writingcenter@wgu.edu)
• Contact Ecare (ecare@wgu.edu)

2. If I need help with a task, can I have a friend or relative show me what to do?

• The assessments are used to show competency in the area, so the work must be completed by the student.  Please utilize course mentors and learning resources for course work assistance.

 

3. Does anyone look at the Turnitin report, or was my task automatically failed by a computer because it showed a high percentage of matching material?

• A content evaluator first picks up your work from the evaluation queue and reviews the Turnitin report.
• If there are any concerns seen in your Turnitin report, the content evaluator will send your work to Academic Authenticity for review.
• Academic Authenticity (the Originality Team) will review your submission, looking for any possible originality concerns in both your paper and Turnitin report.

 

4. Why did my task get zeroed out if I quoted, cited, and referenced all of my sources?

• As the tasks are used to show competency, a majority of the work needs to allow for the student's own voice (thoughts/ideas) to be seen.  If a large portion of the work is pulled from outside sources, revision may be required to allow for the student to present his or her own ideas.  

5. What are the differences in a Referral to the WGU Writing Center, an Academic Authenticity Warning, and an Academic Authenticity Investigation Notice?

• These notices are sent if there is an originality concern seen in the student's work. 
• A Referral to the WGU Writing Center is sent when too much unoriginal work is included in a submission which does not allow for competency to be evaluated, although some original ideas are present.  Revision is needed to provide an increase in the student's own voice.  These types of notices do not escalate.
• An Academic Authenticity Warning is sent when the majority of the work presented is not the student's own, or there has been an attempt to use work without crediting the source.  These can be matches to internet sources, online publications, other students, etc.  These will escalate to the possible review of all of the student's work depending on the nature of the concern.
• An Academic Authenticity Investigation Notice is sent when a previous warning has been sent to the student and further tasks are submitted that contain originality concerns.  All of the student's work is reviewed and a report is sent to the Student Conduct Board for further determination of possible consequences.  The investigation can take 7-10 business days to complete.

6. Will matches to my own work cause a high percentage on the Turnitin report?

• Generally, a student's own work is excluded automatically by Turnitin and is not seen in the %.  Although, in some cases when the work has been submitted across DRFs, a match may be seen.  However, the Academic Authenticity Investigator is able to determine if any of the matches used to determine the Overall similarity index on the Turnitin report are the student's own work and will exclude them manually.

7. Will the inclusion of task instructions or given scenarios cause problems?

• If a student uses task instructions or repeats given scenarios within an assessment, then matches may appear within a Turnitin report. If these words or phrases are necessary, then the student should dismiss that match. The Academic Authenticity Investigator and the content evaluator will be able to see these matches upon review.  Often, a manual Turnitin report that excludes those matches can be generated to determine the student's own voice.

8. What can I do if the Turnitin feature is taking too long?

• Turnitin reports should be ready to view within 30 minutes. The majority of reports are available within 5-10 minutes. If a student is anxious to submit, then he or she may do so without viewing the originality report. A student can always cancel a submission and resubmit if a report becomes available to view.
• Students are not required to view a Turnitin report before submitting. However, the student is still responsible for any matching work seen in his or her submission.