rutgers-old-queens.JPG

Rutgers University reported the most rapes among college campuses in New Jersey in 2014, according to new federal data. (Star-Ledger file photo)

(Tony Kurdzuk/NJ Advance Media)

New Jersey's four-year colleges and universities reported 84 rapes on campus in 2014, according to new federal data.

Rutgers University, the state's largest university, reported 32 rapes on its New Brunswick-Piscataway campus, the most in New Jersey and tied for seventh highest in the nation, according to an analysis of the new data by the Washington Post.

In New Jersey, Rutgers was followed by Rowan University with seven reported rapes in 2014. Ramapo College, Stockton University and William Paterson University were next highest with six reported rapes each that year.

The chart below shows how many rapes were reported at each New Jersey campus in 2014.

In total, 17 of New Jersey's four-year colleges and universities reported one rape or more in 2014, according to the data. Ten New Jersey schools reported no rapes that year, including New Jersey City University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Rider University and Fairleigh Dickinson University's Florham campus.

This is the first year the U.S. Department of Education has broken out how many rapes were reported on each campus under new federal disclosure laws. In previous years, colleges were only required to report "forcible sex offenses," which included rape and other sex-related crimes.

Under the federal definition, rape is defined as: "Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim."

Several colleges have said the new rape statistics can be misleading. Rutgers had the highest number of reported rapes in New Jersey and one of the highest in the nation. But the state university has one of the largest campuses in the country.

When the size of the campus is taken into account, Rutgers-New Brunswick reported 0.7 rapes per 1,000 students, far from the highest rate in the nation, according to the data.

Rutgers officials have worked with the White House on efforts to develop new ways for colleges to assess sexual assaults on campus and help victims.

"We strongly encourage individuals to report crimes and to use the resources provided by the university," Rutgers officials said in a statement. "Reporting a sexual assault can be difficult and may seem overwhelming, but the university urges anyone who believes he or she was a victim of a crime to report the incident to the Rutgers University Police Department."

Several of the schools with the highest number of reported rapes said their numbers may be high because they have stepped up efforts to encourage students to report alleged assaults. Some school officials said they would be more concerned if their campuses had no reported rapes because that could be a sign students do not feel comfortable coming forward.

Both Brown University and the University of Connecticut -- which tied for the most reported rapes in the nation with 43 each - said they have been working to establish a culture where students are encouraged to report alleged incidents.

In New Jersey, a Rowan University spokesman said the public university sees the seven reported rapes on its Glassboro campus as a sign that the school is working hard to properly report alleged rapes.

"We are very vigilant about that," said Jose Cardona, a Rowan spokesman. "We are very proud of all the programs we have in place . . . Our numbers are showing truthfully what is happening on our campus."