The U.S. Department of Education added Colorado State University to a growing list of 12 colleges and universities in the United States under investigation for their handling of sexual assault complaints.

On May 1, the department’s Office for Civil Rights released the list, making public the names of the schools under investigation for possible violations of Title IX, the enactment from 1972 which prohibits gender discrimination at institutions receiving federal funds.

When the list was first released, the University of Colorado was among the four Colorado schools under investigation — CSU was not.

On Wednesday, July 2, the list was republished to include 62 schools, ranging from small colleges to large universities, across 32 states.

Investigations are addressed in a case-by-case manner, according to the department. Just because a school is listed does not mean it has violated a law, only that there is an investigation.  Some were prompted after complaints made to the department, and others were launched following compliance reviews.

According to Mike Hooker, CSU executive director of public affairs and communications, the University was selected as part of the proactive compliance review, not the result of a specific complaint.

Sexual assault awareness has been a topic of conversation at the University and at the national level. On June 19, the Obama administration announced action to continue to keep college campuses safe, which would implement changes to the Clery Act signed by President Obama in March of 2013.

“I think that there is progress being made,” said Casey Malsam, a victim advocate at the

Women and Gender Advocacy Center at CSU. “I think that there is progress left to be made as well.”

The WGAC is one example of the programs CSU is offering to provide resources, advocacy and support for victims of sexual violence, harassment and stalking.

“CSU has long been focused on, and dedicated to, Title IX compliance, and we look forward to the feedback and guidance from the Office for Civil Rights during this review process,” Hooker said.

Collegian News Editor Hannah Hemperly can be reached at news@collegian.com.