Federal investigators with the U.S. Department of Education are looking into 55 American colleges and universities' track records of handling instances of sexual violence and harassment involving their students.

55 Schools Under Investigation

Under Title IX, which stipulates that schools that receive federal grants cannot discriminate based on gender, the Department of Education has been investigating how schools handle sexual assault cases. The 55 schools listed will have to address the issues identified in the investigation or else face sanctions that could include the loss of federal funding, reported Sports Illustrated.

Among the schools listed are Arizona State University, University of Southern California, University of Connecticut, Florida State University, Harvard University Law School, Michigan State University, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina, Dartmouth College, Princeton University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Vanderbilt University and University of Virginia. (Click HERE for full list.)

Investigations such as the one recently conducted under Title IV are typically kept under the radar, though they do occur with relative frequency, according to CNN. This time, in order to achieve greater transparency in the process, the federal government has decided to make the list of schools under investigation public.

“We are making this list available in an effort to bring more transparency to our enforcement work and to foster better public awareness of civil rights,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine E. Lhamon said. “We hope this increased transparency will spur community dialogue about this important issue. I also want to make it clear that a college or university’s appearance on this list and being the subject of a Title IX investigation in no way indicates at this stage that the college or university is violating or has violated the law.”

The Department of Education, while they’ve released the names of all 55 colleges, has declined to reveal the cases or evidence that have placed the schools on their list.