May 07, 2014 10:58 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Now that the U.S. Education Department has chosen to be transparent with its Title IX investigations, an activist group called UltraViolet wants the Princeton Review to consider sexual assault in its college rankings.

According to the Huffington Post, the activist group has reached out to the influential publication by creating an online petition, which is nearing 30,000 signatures. UltraViolet's main focus is to address sexism and the law recognizes sexual assault as a crime of gender discrimination.

The petition reads, "Tell the Princeton Review: 'High school students and their parents have a right to know if a college campus has a problem with rape. Please include sexual assault prevention and response in your ranking of colleges.'"

Robert Franek, senior vice president and publisher of the Princeton Review, said the publication may not need a petition to include sex crime statistics.

"Reports of sexual assaults on college campuses are extremely disturbing to all of us at the Princeton Review," he told the HP. "This is a serious issue that we are following very closely, and we agree that information on sexual assaults should be made available to students and their parents."

On average, one in five women in college experience sexual misconduct, but only 12 percent report the incident. The White House recently released a report from a task force formed to craft policy recommendations for colleges to adhere to better respond to sexual assault complaints. Currently, there are 55 schools under federal investigation for alleged Title IX and Clery Act violations.

Franek does not know how the Princeton Review can compare the safety level for female students on various college campuses. He did say sexual assault statistics will be included in the "Best Quality of Life" list, which will now weigh a dozen different factors for its results. The publication will also direct its readers to visit NotAlone.gov, a website launched with the task force's report.

Unlike the Princeton Review, U.S. News and World Report, which also releases annual college rankings, relies on statistics rather than student surveys. It is unclear if the publication will take the newly released Education Department Title IX investigation list into account.

"Our message to schools is if bad PR is what it takes for you to stop sexual assault on campus, then we're willing to bring that," Karin Roland, organizing director at UltraViolet, told the HP. "But student safety should be what's motivating them."

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