SafeAssign for Students
SafeAssign is provided to all STM students, so that they may ensure that their papers are
properly cited before submitting them to instructors. The following is a guide on how to
upload your documents, as well as understand the score report once it is returned.
You can access SafeAssign from Blackboard Vista. You will automatically be added to the
STM SafeAssign course at the beginning of the semester. Note, that this is not a coursespecific site, and your instructors do not have access to anything you post on SafeAssign.
Once you click on the SafeAssign course, you will see a link to submit an assignment.
1. Using your web browser, navigate to http://cms.bc.edu and login using your BC
credentials.
2. Click on the SafeAssign link, listed along with your courses.
3. Save a copy of the paper you are about to upload without the bibliography.
4. Click on the assignment title, then click on the browse button and select your file
from its location on your computer. Word (.doc and .docx), PDF (.pdf), and text
(.txt) files are all supported.
5. Now click submit, and your paper will be uploaded and tested for potential
plagiarism.
Because this is meant to assist you in avoiding unwittingly plagairizing another paper, you
will always be able to submit your paper multiple times, as well as see the Safe Assign report.
Direct quotations and bibliographic data will add to your overall score, so please do not
include your bibliography when uploading your paper.
Please note that the amount of time necessary to run the report will vary. Generally,
SafeAssign will take between 30 minutes and 1 hour to generate a report, though they will
often be returned sooner than that.
Once the report is generated, click on the icon below the column heading ‘SA report.’ A new
window will open up and you will see the text of your paper here. A list of sources of
potentially-copied material will be listed and numbered at the top of your paper. For each
item listed, click on the magnifying glass to highlight the text in question. If you would like
to view the original source, click on the physical link and a new window will open, displaying
the text. Both of these steps may be repeated for each source, at your discretion.
We hope that you will find the SafeAssign tool useful, and will use it often, before
submitting any of your written work. If you have any questions regarding academic integrity
or interpreting the scores of your Safe Assign submissions, please contact the Associate
Dean of Academic Affairs, Jen Bader, at jennifer.bader@bc.edu.
If you have questions regarding SafeAssign and Blackboard Vista, please e-mail
cms@bc.edu.
SafeAssign for Students
Q: How long will it take for me to receive a score report once I have submitted
a file on Direct Submit?
A: The amount of time may vary, based on the length of the paper, as well as
demands on SafeAssign’s servers. Generally, 30 minutes to 1 hour will suffice.
Q: How can I see a visual representation of what SafeAssign is showing as
potentially-copied material within the document itself?
A: Click on the magnifying glass next to the source, and the text will be completely
highlighted.
Q: If I have used a large quotation from a single source, but it is properly cited,
will my score report still be influenced?
A: Yes, but do keep in mind that SafeAssign is meant to help you ensure that you
have properly cited your sources. A high score report based on some longer
quotations should only alert you to double-check that you have cited all sources
properly. Your instructors will not receive a copy of the score report.