The ineffectiveness of sexual assault policies and procedures in postsecondary institutions across the nation has increased pressure on universities to find a proper way to deal with campus assault. Case Western Reserve University is among 28 universities across the U.S. that will survey its students about sexual assault.

This anonymous survey is an initiative of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group of 62 universities dedicated to maintaining a strong postsecondary educational system in North America. Twenty-seven of the universities participating in the survey, including CWRU, belong to the AAU, while one other school, Dartmouth College, was invited to participate in the survey as well.

Some other AAU members participating in the survey include Brown University, Harvard University, the Ohio State University and Washington University in St. Louis.

“Our primary purpose in conducting this survey is to help our institutions gain a better understanding of this complex problem on their own campuses as well as nationally,” said AAU President Hunter Rawlings III.

“Our first priority, and theirs, is to ensure that students not only are safe but feel safe,” he added. “Universities will be using their data to inform their own policies and practices regarding sexual assault. We also hope the survey will help policy makers gain a better understanding of the problem and that it will make a significant contribution to the growing body of research on sexual assault.”

Experts from a few of the participating universities will help develop the survey, and it will be sent by each respective institution’s undergraduate and graduate students in April.