Federal investigators are examining how complaints of sexual assault and harassment are handled at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, one of 55 campuses nationwide being scrutinized to ensure compliance with the law.

For the first time, the U.S. Education Department revealed the list of colleges being investigated by its Office of Civil Rights on Thursday as the Obama administration sought to bring more openness to the issue of sexual violence in higher education. One in 5 women are assaulted in college, according to a White House task force report issued this week.

Colleges and universities on the list include well-known private institutions such as Harvard and Princeton as well as public schools including the University of California at Berkeley and Arizona State. About half of all states have schools under investigation. No details of the investigations were released, including which of the investigations were prompted by complaints.

The University of Hawaii said the investigation of its procedures is a "compliance audit" and was not triggered by a complaint or a specific incident.

Investigators from the Office for Civil Rights have been visiting the Manoa campus to meet with students, faculty, staff, administrators and regents. They issued open invitations to students to make private appointments or participate in focus groups this week on sexual harassment and assault.

Sessions were held for groups such as female student athletes, male undergraduates and medical students.

In an open letter encouraging students to take part, Chancellor Tom Apple noted that the audit began nearly a year ago and that investigators would be on campus from Monday to Wednesday of this week to meet with students.

He followed up with a statement to the media Thursday.

"The audit is a productive opportunity to see how else we can enhance student safety, above and beyond what we’re doing already," he said. "We anticipate a forward-thinking negotiated resolution with the Office of Civil Rights that will enhance the safety of our UH Manoa campus."

Earlier this week the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault announced the creation of a website, notalone.gov, offering resources for victims of sexual harassment and assault, and information about past enforcement actions on campuses.

It clarifies requirements of the law, as requested by students and colleges. It also made an array of recommendations to schools, such as identifying confidential victims’ advocates and conducting surveys to gauge the frequency of sexual assault on campuses.

"All of our campuses are working to comply with the new requirements, and more importantly, to ensure safe environments for all our students, faculty and staff," UH Interim President David Lassner said in a statement Thursday.

A systemwide steering committee is sharing strategies and procedures, he said, and the new budget process directs chancellors to identify additional resources needed.

Apple told the regents at their meeting in February that the UH Office of the Gender Equity Specialist has conducted more training sessions regarding sexual harassment and assault, prompting more reports of cases. The load is beginning to tax resources, he said, saying that a campus the size of Manoa should have a full-time Title IX coordinator.

The Office of Civil Rights investigations are being done under Title IX of a law prohibiting gender discrimination at schools that receive federal funds. It guarantees females equal access to sports, but it also regulates institutions’ handling of sexual violence and is increasingly used by victims who say their schools failed to protect them.

Dorie Nolt, press secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, told the Boston Globe that "compliance reviews are not random audits of schools — they are selected based on various sources of information, including statistical data, news reports and information from parents, advocacy groups and community organizations."

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said there was "absolutely zero presumption" of guilt for the schools on the list. The department can withhold federal funding from a school that doesn’t comply with the law, but it so far has not used that power and instead has negotiated voluntary resolutions for violators.

While being on the list might be difficult for schools, Duncan said, it pales in comparison with the trauma borne by sexual assault victims on American college campuses.

"The fact that the author of Title IX is the late Hawaii Congresswoman Patsy Mink invokes a special responsibility on our part as Hawaii’s public university to be fully and completely compliant," UH Board of Regents Chairman John Holzman said.