Your instructor may require that you submit some of your assignments to Turnitin. Turnitin is a web application that checks for the originality of student submitted material. For more information, see here.
Recently, Turnitin had a series of server crashes. In the process of working with Turnitin to restore appropriate levels of service, UVic determined that Turnitin was storing some personal information of our students (first name, last name and email address) in the United States. This was despite assurances by Turnitin that this personal information would only be stored in Canada. This is a problem because BC privacy legislation requires consent from individuals for access to or storage of personal information outside of Canada. Because of this issue, Moodle can no longer be used to submit assignments to Turnitin.
We have determined that the personal information was securely held and not inappropriately accessed.
If you are concerned about your information going to the United States, please follow these steps:
- prepare your paper with ONLY the last four digits of your student number (your V number) on the header of the first page- do not include any other personal information (name, email address or full V number);
- submit your paper following your instructor's instructions
Your instructor can submit your assignment to Turnitin on your behalf.
Please do not hesitate to contact your instructor if you have any questions regarding this matter.
