In this guide:
- Why does our institution need to upgrade to Turnitin's LTI 1.3?
- What are the end of support dates?
- What do I need to do first as an LMS administrator?
- Is it possible to run both the LTI 1.1 integration and the LTI 1.3 integration at the same time while we transition?
- How does this affect Turnitin LTI 1.1 assignments in past courses?
- How does this affect new Turnitin LTI 1.3 assignments created in current courses?
- What are the enhancements that instructors will gain with LTI 1.3?
- What changes to existing workflows do my instructors need to be aware of?
- How does this affect Turnitin LTI 1.1 assignments that have been copied from past courses into current courses?
- What happens to instructor QuickMarks, rubrics, and PeerMark questions that they have created?
- What support guides are available to assist us?
Why does our institution need to upgrade to Turnitin's LTI 1.3?
As part of Turnitin’s commitment to providing the best customer experience and helping you get the most out of our solutions, we are encouraging our customers who have been using Turnitin’s legacy integration in Sakai to migrate to Turnitin's LTI 1.3. This upgrade provides additional security improvements as well as additional enhancements such as roster syncing, easier assignment creation, and better grade pass back service.
Please note that Turnitin plans to end support of the Turnitin legacy integration with Sakai on December 31, 2026 and to deprecate this integration entirely on June 30, 2026.
To learn more about Turnitin's LTI 1.3, please see Turnitin Feedback Studio & LTI integrations.
What are the end of support dates?
The end of support date for Turnitin's legacy integration with Sakai is December 31, 2026 while the end of life date is June 30, 2027. You can migrate your integration till this date during the time that works best for your academic schedule.
What do I need to do first as an LMS administrator?
- Login to your Sakai environment as an admin. Go to Administrator Workspace and click External Tools. Click Install LTI tool button and after naming the tool “Turnitin”, click Continue then click the Use LTI Dynamic Registration button.
- Enter in the dynamic registration url (https://lti.int.turnitin.com/register/1p3) and click Begin Configuration
- You will be prompted to log in and as if you are logging into home.turnitin.com and to provide the login code for security. You will choose an account from the list and then click Finish. ALl the fields will be filled out for you.
- After you have successfully created your dummy assignment (the last step in the LTI 1.3 integration setup), go to Sakai properties and disable the legacy option.
As we communicate information to the Turnitin admins over the next year, our Sakai upgrade recommendations for Turnitin administrators may be useful in assisting in the transition from LTI 1.1 to LTI 1.3. It includes advice on vetting the integration with your Cybersecurity or IT Department as needed, testing the integration before launching it in production, and communicating to stakeholders what changes they can expect in their classes.
Is it possible to run both the Turnitin legacy integration and the LTI 1.3 integration at the same time while we transition?
Because both the legacy option and LTI 1.3 are accessed via Assignments, we do not recommend running them both at the same time to avoid confusion. If you do not disable the legacy integration, users will see a separate checkbox for Turnitin (which will not work after eol date) instead of following the LTI 1.3 workflow which can cause confusion.
How does this affect Turnitin LTI 1.1 assignments in past courses?
Once the end of life for the legacy integration occurs (or if you delete the integration prior to end of life), users will not have access to the reports associated with those Sakai assignments. However, you should still be able to access past legacy submissions and their associated reports via the Submission Management tool in home.turnitin.com. Instructors should also have the option to search reports for submissions via Submission Management found in the Turnitin Tool Dropdown within Sakai. If you find that you are encountering issues, please contact Turnitin Support.
How does this affect new Turnitin LTI 1.3 assignments created in current courses?
Because the LTI 1.3 integration is deep linking, creating the assignment via the Assignments workflow is a more streamlined process (resulting in less clicking and duplication of assignment information in both Turnitin and Sakai). For more information, view our guidance on how to create a Sakai LTI 1.3 assignment.
What are the enhancements that instructors will gain with Turnitin LTI 1.3?
The Turnitin Advantage integration (LTI 1.3) is now even more extensible with access to new workflows, including simplified, streamlined assignment workflows with one integrated Turnitin inbox for easier management of Turnitin across the institution. Additionally, it provides access to AI-assisted add-ons, including:
- Turnitin Clarity: Provides a composition space with AI assistance for students to help them build AI literacy, critical thinking, and writing skills. Educators gain visibility into students’ writing process while students learn how to use AI tools thoughtfully, ethically, and transparently. This shared understanding builds trust, supports equitable grading, and keeps the focus on real learning.
- Turnitin Originality: Go beyond similarity checking with AI writing detection and detailed document insights that help uphold academic integrity and support responsible scholarship.
- Paper to Digital: Paper to Digital is designed to help grade handwritten submissions with the same speed and flexibility as digital work, combining traditional assessment with AI-assisted grading.
For more comprehensive Turnitin Feedback Studio guidance and hands-on resources, please visit the Resource Center page and bookmark it for future reference.
- Overall improved user interface for you (and your students) including seeing at a glance which students have submitted or not to the assignment via the Assignment Inbox
- Easier assignment creation workflow
- Paper deletion request workflow
- Access to the Assignment Copy tool and Submission Management tool
- Ability to resync grades to the LMS gradebook as needed
- Access to assignment level insights within the LTI inbox including robust assignment analytics and Flags
- Roster syncing function that updates every time the assignment is launched. Because this is based on the Sakai course roster, this means that students that have been added to the class or dropped from the class will show in the assignment inbox automatically.
- Ability to submit an assignment on behalf of a student as needed
What changes to existing workflows do my instructors need to be aware of?
While instructors will continue to access Turnitin via Assignments, the interface as well as the enhancements and capabilities of the LTI 1.3 integration are rather substantial. Please refer to our instructor quick start guide for assistance.
Please note that dropped or deactivated students will be removed from the Turnitin assignment inbox. If you or an instructor needs to see a submission made by students that have been dropped from a course, please use the Submission Management tool. If there are any issues with finding the submission, please contact Turnitin Support.
How does this affect Turnitin LTI 1.1 assignments that have been copied from past courses into current courses?
Instructors ill need to recreate your legacy assignments as LTI 1.3 assignments by adjusting the submission type to External Tool and choosing Turnitin from the Select External Tool (LTI) button.
Once they do, they can continue to use your LMS course copy method or they can use Turnitin’s Assignment Copy tool.
What happens to Instructor QuickMarks and rubrics that they have created?
We recommend that instructors export QuickMarks and rubrics and grading forms and import them as needed. See our guidance below.
If there is an issue with accessing them, please contact Turnitin support for assistance.