May 29, 2015 12:28 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The state of Virginia is aiming to improve how their colleges handle allegations of sexual assault on campus by making reporting the crime less complicated or intimidating for victims.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) turned in a task force's recommendations for how to make reporting sexual misconduct and violence more accessible for college students Thursday. Further strengthening the state's approach to campus sexual assault, the Huffington Post noted, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) signed into law two related polices the same day.

READ the full report here.

The task force proposed opening a line of communication between schools and the local law enforcement for cases of sexual misconduct and violence. Under Title IX, schools are required to properly investigate and adjudicate sexually discriminatory crimes if they occur on their campus.

That responsibility does not always extend of off-campus residence buildings, as they are not always school-owned. The task force suggested schools and law enforcement agencies establish a concrete protocol for such situations.

But possibly the most important issue is getting victims to report their crimes. Sexual violence is most often not random and occurs between people who know each other, which can make reporting complaints complicated.

"College students are used to doing everything online," Herring told the HP. "It's really important we meet students where they are and communicate with them in the way that they're used to communicating."

The University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, the University of Richmond, James Madison University and Washington and Lee University are all under federal investigations for alleged Title IX violations. The state also saw two other such probes end last year at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Military Institute last year as well.

The now-retracted Rolling Stone investigative piece on campus rape at UVA further brought the matter to the state's attention.

"There were points in our work effort that there was real adversity," Herring said. "In the early part, in the fall, a student had been missing and later found dead. And then a couple months after that the Rolling Stone article hit, and following that the retraction - we knew a lot of the national spotlight was on us.

"I really get the sense that this generation of students really wants to change the climate."

(H/T: The Huffington Post)

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