Nearly one in four female college students say they have been sexually assaulted or were the targets of sexual misconduct while enrolled in school, according to a new survey commissioned by the Association of American Universities.

AAU is an association representing 62 public and private universities in the U.S., including many Ivy League universities. As part of an ongoing effort to reduce sexual assault on college campuses, the association hired research firm Westat to poll 27 universities and find out how prevalent sexual misconduct is at higher education institutions.

"AAU undertook this initiative to assist our universities in their ongoing efforts to address sexual assault and sexual misconduct on campus," AAU President Hunter Rawlings said. "Our universities are working to ensure their campuses are safe places for students."

The firm polled more than 150,000 students, encouraging participation with offers of rewards or $5 incentives. It estimated that roughly 20 percent of the total student body at all 27 universities participated. It also warned that certain results could be too high, as sexual assault victims were more likely to participate than non-victims.

Nearly 12 percent of all student respondents—both male and female—reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact either by force, threats of force or by incapacitation. More than 23 percent of women reported sexual assault or misconduct, with nearly 11 percent experiencing penetration.

Most targets of sexual assault or misconduct didn't report their experiences to law enforcement or campus officials. The most common reason for not reporting is the victims didn't think the incident was serious enough to take to authorities. Victims also didn't report their experiences because they felt embarrassed or ashamed about what had happened to them or they "did not think anything would be done about it."

At the same time, one in six students said they believe school officials would take reports of sexual assault or misconduct seriously.

AAU also has detailed the results by individual university for each of the 27 institutions that participated. However, the association is not sharing that data, saying that decision is up to each university. http://bit.ly/1OLX6ce

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