Federal and state regulations require institutions to disclose specific gifts and contracts received from foreign sources. This site provides guidance to help with this compliance requirement, including links to resources, the timeline, and the process for reporting.

Learn More about Reporting Requirements by Clicking on the buttons above. 

The Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research (OPAIR) is responsible for the University’s compliance with Section 117 of the Higher Education Act Foreign Gift and Contract Reporting and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Higher Education Gift Disclosure Act. Each January and July, OPAIR collects University-wide data for these disclosure reports. The data are also used to support compliance with the Foreign Financial Disclosure Report of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which is handled by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research. 

Section 117 of the Higher Education Act requires institutions to disclose to the Department of Education (ED) contracts, grants, agreements with or gifts from a foreign source, with a value of $250,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with the same foreign source, within a calendar year.   

The information to be disclosed varies depending on whether the funding is a contract or a gift, whether it is restricted or conditional, and whether the foreign source is a foreign government, a legal entity, an individual, or an agent or subsidiary of a foreign legal entity.    

• • Gifts are reported as of the date they are received 
  • Contracts are reported once, at the date of execution of the contract. 

Once the $250,000 threshold is met, all disaggregated individual gifts/contracts that add up to the threshold and beyond must be reported.  Because transactions that could trigger the $250,000 threshold occur in many different units across Penn State, units should report qualifying foreign source contracts and gifts received in any amount, regardless of how small. 

Reports are submitted twice per year:  January 31 (covering the previous July 1 to December 31 period) and July 31 (covering the previous January 1 to June 30 period). 

Penalties for knowingly or willfully failing to comply with this reporting requirement include loss of Title IV federal student aid funds and reimbursement to the U.S. Treasury for the full cost of obtaining compliance. As of August 2025, over 20 institutions have been investigated for failing to report or under-reporting. 

Resources

24 P.S. Section 6301-6307 requires the University to disclose by March 1 to the Pennsylvania Department of Education the amount, terms, restrictions, requirements, and conditions attached to or made a part of any gift of a value equal to or in excess of $100,000 made to the institution by a donor known to the institution through reasonable good faith efforts to be a foreign government/ legal entity/person (or agent thereof) in each fiscal year.    

• • Transactions are reportable when the contribution of the foreign government/legal entity/foreign person (or agent thereof), alone or together with others, exceeds 50% of the total gift.  
  • Disclosure reports are made public and must be submitted no later than the due date for the federal return of organizations exempt from income tax.  
  • Willful or intentional failure by the institution to disclose required information is subject to a civil penalty of 105% of the amount of any undisclosed gift. 

Section 10339B, Foreign Financial Disclosure Report, of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. § 19040) (CHIPS Act) requires Penn State to disclose annually (October 31) “all current financial support, the value of which is $50,000 or more, including gifts and contracts, received directly or indirectly from a foreign source which is associated with a foreign country of concern.”    

Current “countries of concern” defined in the CHIPS Act are China, Russia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), and Iran.  

Reported transactions will also be used for the Section 10339B, Foreign Financial Disclosure Report, of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. § 19040) which requires Penn State to disclose annually “all current financial support, the value of which is $50,000 or more, including gifts and contracts, received directly or indirectly from a foreign source which is associated with a foreign country of concern.” The current “countries of concern” are China, Russia, North Korea (the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea), and Iran. FAQs about this new reporting requirement can be found here.  

For more information about CHIPs reporting, please contact: Clinton Schmidt, Assistant Vice President for Research Office of the Senior Vice President for Research,  cls65@psu.edu 814-865-5437 

OPAIR collects data for  disclosure reports twice yearly:   

• July 31 – Qualifying gifts received/contracts entered into January 1 – June 30. 

• January 31 – Qualifying gifts received/contracts entered into  July 1-December 31. 

All University Units are responsible for reporting Foreign Gifts and Contracts. The Central Reporting Entity below reports the types of transactions listed for the entire University.   

Currently, foreign gift and contract data are provided by the following central University reporting units:

*Philanthropic gifts are reported centrally by Development.  A philanthropic gift is money or property that is given freely by the donor, with no quid pro quo, and for the purpose of bettering humanity. DAR tracks all philanthropic gifts to Penn State.  Transactions that are not given freely are not philanthropic and not tracked by DAR. Some examples are contractual obligations, sponsored research, payments for services, or transfers from any form of government.   

Section 117 requires institutions to report contracts, grants, agreements with or gifts from a foreign source, with a value of $250,000 or more, considered alone or in combination with all other gifts from or contracts with the same foreign source, within a calendar year.  Because transactions that could trigger the $250,000 threshold occur in many different units across Penn State, units should report to OPAIR foreign source contracts and gifts received in any amount, regardless of how small.  If you are unsure whether a transaction should be reported, please contact Marie Sullivan at mjs920@psu.edu with questions.  Generally, units should err on the side of disclosure.   

Reportable data points differ based on whether the transaction is a gift, a contract, or a conditional gift or contract. Link to Reporting Templates

Marie Sullivan. J.D. 

Director of Accreditation

Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research

The Pennsylvania State University

203 Rider Building

University Park, 16802

814-865-3918

mjs920@psu.edu