The campuses of St. Thomas University, New Brunswick Community College and the University of New Brunswick all share a common space known in Fredericton as 'College Hill.'

Going forward, the three post-secondary institutions will share more than just a location. Each of the schools have signed an agreement pledging a quarter million dollars over three years to come up with a strategy to deal with an increased number of assaults on all three campuses.

"We share a community, we share this issue, and it's something that we need to be pooling our resources on," says George MacLean, UNB's Vice President of Academics.

The schools are promising to invest $80,000 a year for three years, towards supporting victims, educating the public and training student leaders and staff.

"It excites me when I see that there's an increase of disclosures of sexual violence because we know they're happening," says Maggie Forsythe, who was hired last year as UNB's sexual assault support advocate.

In past years, UNB and STU have reported anywhere from one to six sexual assaults. This past school year, from September 2016 to April 2017, STU reported 13 and UNB 34.

With a plan in place, they're hopeful students from all three schools will use the strategy, but at the same time hoping they won't have to.

"I think what's happening is that people are coming forward and saying, you know what? This was not okay in what happened to me, and I'm seeking resources and support for that," says Forsythe.

Some of the reported sexual assaults didn't happen on campus, but St. Thomas' Director of Student Services says those students still wanted to report them to the school.

"When we hear about these numbers of disclosures, it was really students who had experienced sexual violence and then were okay talking to a student leader, and then that student leader talked about Maggie and encouraged them to go see her," explains Brock Richardson.

The strategy will undergo a review in two years, when the schools will decide whether or not to extend it.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Laura Brown.