Two higher-education groups are asking colleges and universities to provide them with completed copies of a questionnaire recently distributed by the Internal Revenue Service.
The Association of Governing Boards and the National Association of College and University Business Officers hope to collate and analyze the data from the form, which Penn has not received.
The groups say the questionnaire marks a recent trend of increased governmental scrutiny into how universities manage their money.
The questionnaire includes information concerning student demographics, endowments, employee compensation and other business taxable income.
The IRS distributed the form to the presidents of more than 400 colleges about two weeks ago, said Richard Legon, president of AGB.
Bill Andresen, head of Penn's Washington office, said there is no way to know if the University will receive a form.
But whether or not a school fills out the questionnaire, "its impact can ultimately affect all institutions," Legon said.
In a letter asking colleges to send copies of their completed IRS questionnaires to the AGB and NACUBO, the groups say the form is more than just a data collection exercise.
Rather, it marks "a significant shift in the way colleges and universities are regulated and governed."
While Legon said that "transparency and accountability" to the IRS is appropriate, "governmental regulations, especially of fiscal matters, need to be carefully scrutinized before being implemented."
According to Legon, if the government intervenes too much in the affairs of nonprofit organizations like universities and hospitals - which he called "aggressive governance" - it puts "institutional autonomy and self-regulation at risk." He said that could have a "potential long-term negative effect on volunteerism and board governance."
AGB and NACUBO want to analyze the results of the questionnaire because higher education has an obligation to assess its own data and not "just leave it to the IRS to interpret its importance," Legon said.
Ultimately, Legon said he thinks the questionnaire will result in the development of a new Form 990 tax report that will focus exclusively on issues concerning higher education.
"We will have to wait and see if this form will be a concern or not," he said.
Earlier this fall, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) asked the IRS to develop a new 990 form for colleges. Over the past year, Grassley has argued that the government should more closely examine how universities manage their money, and he has proposed legislation that would require universities to spend 5 percent of their endowments annually.
NACUBO officials did not respond to calls for comment.
