This article only applies to Classic Standard Assignments. If you are using the New Standard Assignment (guidance here), papers can only be deleted following the paper deletion request workflow, so the process below is not applicable.
If you would like to remove a submission, you can do this from the relevant assignment inbox.
From the assignment inbox, locate the submission you wish to remove and select the three-dots menu under the Options header. From the drop-down that appears, select Remove From Inbox. A pop-up message will appear asking if you are sure you want to remove the item from the inbox; click on Confirm to proceed.
Once removed, instructors can then resubmit on behalf of the student, or the student can resubmit to the assignment themselves, if needed.
It's important to note that when a submission is removed from the assignment inbox, it is not permanently deleted from the system. Instead, the submission is unindexed and removed from the Turnitin repository.
This distinction is important:
- Unindexed means the paper is no longer included in Turnitin’s comparison database
- As a result, its content will not be checked against or matched with any future submissions
This action also does not update existing Similarity Reports:
- If the submission already appears as a match in a Similarity Report, the match will remain
- If needed, you can exclude that source manually within the report to remove it from the similarity score
If you wish to permanently delete a submission, you may be able to raise a paper deletion request with your Turnitin account administrator by selecting Request permanent deletion from the drop-down menu instead. Instructor guidance on this topic is available in our Help Guides.