Before the recent revelations about sexual assault in Hollywood and other industries, the spotlight was on the nation's colleges and universities: Over the past several years, those institutions have been challenged by lawmakers and a growing group of emboldened victims to improve their response to sexual crimes on campus.

Assessing higher education's progress, however, has been impeded by a lack of reliable national statistics. In our work we helped the Department of Defense modernize the survey used to identify trends in sexual assault and sexual harassment of military service members. Our research illuminated the power of reliable data to help stakeholders and leaders tackle a significant problem thoughtfully. Such a survey would enable institutions to better understand the unique risks faced by their students, the barriers to reporting and seeking help, and the underlying culture that affirms or rejects sexual harassment and assault.

Administrators who learn that sexual assault is not only a problem on their campus but that it is more pronounced than at peer institutions are likely to be more motivated to engage in the hard work of examining their practices and policies, identifying weaknesses in the system and finding solutions.

First, the survey must be standardized. Comparisons will be possible only if institutions use the same approach to survey design, administration and analysis. Second, schools must be willing to make the results of the surveys public. Doing so would send a clear signal that the safety of students is more important than protecting a school's reputation.

At a moment of heightened awareness around sexual violence, America's colleges and universities have an opportunity to lead by example, through a commitment to full transparency about campus sexual assaults and openness to learning from each other's failures and successes.

Read more about helping colleges fight sexual assualt by Kristie Gore at RAND.