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Reed College campus in Southeast Portland. (The Oregonian|OregonLive)

Reed College has the highest rate of reported sexual assaults per capita among U.S. college campuses based on newly released federal data analyzed by The Washington Post.

The U.S. Department of Education's Campus Safety and Security data showed Reed had 12.9 reports of sexual assaults per 1,000 students in 2014. That eclipsed the rate at Wesleyan with a rate of 11.5, Swarthmore College at 11, and Knox College at 10, according to the Post's analysis.

The raw number of sexual assault reports at Reed College was 18 for 2014, the federal data showed.

Under a law known as the Clery Act, schools are required to report on-campus sexual assaults to the federal government. Offenses are defined as rape, sodomy, fondling or sexual assault with an object.

Kevin Myers, a Reed spokesman, told The Washington Post that the data wasn't a surprise. The liberal arts school, he said, has worked to ensure in recent years that students know they can report incidents of sexual violence.

"We have made the process very transparent and as friendly as it can possibly be in that situation," Myers said. "It's about helping the students who come forward get the help they need, in a way that they can control."

Reed College faced criticism in 2011, when students began speaking out against a highly secretive process for addressing sexual assaults. Since then, the college has hired an assistant dean to assist victims, created a sexual-misconduct board that includes students, and updated its written policy.

Reed had the nation's third-highest sexual assault rate in 2010-2012.

--The Oregonian|OregonLive