November 2023
2023 November 28th
Secret question removed from password reset
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check
To improve account security, the secret question and answer workflow has been removed as a method of resetting passwords for users with administrator and instructor accounts. Students are still able to use their secret answer as a method of resetting their password.
We are continuing to work on improvements to website access and security. Stay informed on upcoming updates through our release notes page.
- Additional resources: N/A
2023 November 27th
Updates to AI Writing
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check, Similarity
We will only process submissions for AI writing detection if your institution has the feature enabled.
If AI writing is disabled and then re-enabled, any submissions made while disabled will need to be resubmitted to receive an AI writing report.
- Additional resources: N/A
2023 November 24th
Missing QuickMarks and long loading time known issue resolved
Turnitin license(s):
Some of our users reported experiencing delays with loading QuickMark sets or have missing QuickMarks from sets in Feedback Studio. We investigated this issue and can now confirm it has been resolved.
- Additional resources: N/A
2023 November 1st
New Similarity Report experience now available for instructor
Turnitin license(s): Originality Check, Similarity, SimCheck
The new Similarity Report experience provides a more robust look at instances of similarity for faster insights. Instructors will notice some new and familiar tools.
What to expect in the new Similarity Report
Overall Similarity - The overall similarity is the percentage of text in a submission that matches to sources in our database (calculated by dividing the number of matching words by the total number of words in the submission).
Match Groups - In this new default view, the overall similarity is divided into four categories based on the usage of in-text citations and quotation marks. Any material in the submission matched to a source is highlighted in the corresponding match group color.
Match groups are only available for English language submissions.
Sources - This view displays a list of sources with the highest percentage of text matched for each submission highlight. Switching to this view will change the match-to-source highlights to a rotating color scheme. Choose the Show overlapping sources option for a list of every source matched to the submission, including sources matched to the same text.
Opt out of the new Similarity Report experience
The new report is still completely optional for instructors. Administrators are able to opt out of the new Similarity Report experience in the account settings. This will disable the new report completely for all instructors.
October 2023
2023 October 30th
Bug fix for Quick Submit
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check
We have fixed a bug that was affecting the multiple file and zip uploads for Quick Submit. Entering the author’s full name for all Quick Submit upload options will allow for successful submission to Turnitin if they follow our file requirements.
- Additional resources: Turnitin's file requirements
2023 October 2nd
Single quotes can now be excluded from Similarity Reports
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check
We are now able to detect the use of single quotation marks as a part of the quote exclusion setting for the Similarity Report, while continuing to ignore the use of apostrophes. To learn about the other quote formats that are recognized for this exclusion setting.
- Additional resources: How exclusions and filters refine the Similarity Report
September 2023
2023 September 26th
Students must now be enrolled to submit on their behalf
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check
Students must be enrolled in a class before an instructor is able to submit to an assignment on the student’s behalf. If your institution has reached its student limit, contact your Turnitin account administrator.
- Additional resources: Check out our guidance on enrolling students or submitting on behalf of students.
2023 September 12th
Password requirement updates
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check
We have increased the requirements for creating or resetting passwords to improve your account’s security. New passwords must:
- have a minimum of 12 characters
- include at least one number (0-9)
- include upper and lower case letters (a-z, A-Z)
- include at least one special character
- not include blank spaces
- Additional resources: Check out our password reset guidance if you would like to strengthen your password.
August 2023
2023 August 23rd
Updates to the AI writing PDF report
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check, Similarity
We have added more information to the downloadable PDF version of the AI writing report to now include account, class, and assignment details when available.
- Additional resources: N/A
2023 August 9th
Download the AI writing report
Turnitin license(s): Turnitin Feedback Studio, Turnitin Originality Check, Turnitin Similarity
Users now have the ability to download the AI writing report as a PDF file. This new capability allows you to share the AI writing reports with ease, empowering you with a portable format for offline reference and collaboration.
Select the Download option from the top menu to begin the download.
- Additional resources: N/A
May 2023
2023 May 24th
AI writing detection updates to address our customers’ false positives concerns
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check, Similarity
New messaging for results between 1 and 20 percent
As a result of customer feedback and additional testing, we learned that AI writing detection results between 1 and 20 percent have a higher incidence of false positives. In order to reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation, we have changed the AI indicator and AI writing report to contain an asterisk for percentages less than 20 to call attention to the fact that the score is less reliable.
We have added a new tooltip and in-app notification to help users have a better understanding of the significance of low percentages.
Increased required word count to 300 words
Submissions will now require 300 words of prose text in a long-form writing format order for our model to provide an AI writing detection determination.
Prose text contained in a long-form writing format means individual sentences contained in paragraphs that make up a longer piece of written work, such as an essay, a dissertation, or an article, etc.
AI writing detection model updates
We’ve released an update to our AI writing detection model, which includes:
-
Adjusted how we aggregate sentences at the beginning and ending of the document.
- Improved handling of formatting and line breaks.
- Additional resources: N/A
2023 May 16th
Administrator settings - AI writing indicator visibility toggle
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check, Similarity
We have released a setting for our administrator users that will allow them to toggle the visibility of Turnitin’s AI writing detection capabilities.
AI writing detection capabilities are enabled for all accounts as default.
If administrators would prefer that instructors in their account do not see our AI writing indicator, they can now hide this feature by going to their account settings, find the section for AI Writing, and deselecting the checkbox.
Once turned off, users will no longer be able to see the AI writing indicator in the Similarity Report. This means they will not be able to open the AI writing report.
This toggle will only impact the visibility of the AI writing detection capabilities, but the AI writing capabilities will still remain a part of our existing Similarity Report workflow.
To turn the visibility of the capabilities back on, administrators can select the same option from their settings page.
- Additional resources: Additional assignment settings
April 2023
2023 April 4th
AI writing detection
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check, Similarity
Turnitin is excited to release our new AI writing detection capabilities. It is available for all non-student users who can access Similarity Reports, as well as those using them through an integration with a learning management system or Turnitin’s Core API.
AI detection will only work for content submitted in English. It will not process any non-English submissions. As we continue to iterate, we will keep you updated on developments around non-English language support.
- Additional resources: AI writing detection
February 2023
2023 February 1st
We've updated the default Class end date to 12 months (365 days)
Turnitin license(s): Feedback Studio, Originality Check
The default end date when creating a new class is now 12 months (365 days).
Previously, unless instructors set a custom class end date, the system default was 6 months (185 days). This was causing classes to expire sooner than desired.
Instructors can still set a custom end date for any class or masterclass they create.
- Additional resources: View the Instructor help guides for creating a class and extending a class.