Jan 30, 2014 11:04 AM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

After months of pressure from student groups, Columbia University announced it will release data on students who are punished for sexual assaults on campus.

According to the Huffington Post, university president Lee Bollinger made the announcement Wednesday in a campus-wide email. The school's administration was facing pressure from the Columbia community alleging the school has not properly handled sexual assault.

This past weekend, the Columbia Faculty Senate joined student senators made a joint statement requesting anonymous statistics on students punished for sexual misconduct on campus. The group totaled 29 faculty and student senate members.

"Aggregate, anonymous data related to sexual assaults and other gender-based misconduct will be released beginning with the current academic year," Bollinger wrote in the email. "This will require a delicate balancing of confidentiality and transparency. The release of such information will go beyond the annual reporting and publication of criminal complaints required by the Clery Act, a federal law serving as the national standard for disclosure."

Bollinger's statement said he supported the student senate's request as long as those mentioned in the data are kept anonymous. A student senate member who has been a part of the case for some time, Marc Heinrich told the Huffington Post getting aggregate data will allow policymakers to craft the most effective reforms.

Among the group's concerns is complaints from students who report sexual misconduct. Complainants have said Columbia's Presidential Advisory Committee on Sexual Assault takes months to fully hear and try a case. They say the whole process is supposed to last a month, but that is rare according to complainants.

Sejal Singh, president of Columbia's college democrats, told the HP Bollinger's statement will help the school achieve transparency and accountability. More than 20 schools are under investigation from the U.S. Education Department for not properly handling sexual assault reports.

"There is more to be done, and we'll be working with the administration over the coming months on the next steps, but this letter demonstrates commitment to finding a solution at the highest level of the university," said Singh, "and that united student voices can make a difference in their communities."

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