An arm of the federal government has opened an investigation into Penn State, The Associated Press reported late Wednesday.

Specifically, the U.S. Department of Education is looking into whether the university "failed to report incidents of sexual abuse on campus, as required by federal law," the AP report reads.

It notes that "colleges and universities must report the number of crimes on campus and provide warnings in a timely manner if safety is threatened."

News of the federal investigation arrives as two longtime Penn State administrators -- Gary Schultz and Tim Curley -- face criminal charges of perjury and of failure to report. The cases against them are closely linked to the case against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, accused of a prolonged pattern of child sex abuse.

All related StateCollege.com coverage is available via the page linked below.

Related coverage

• StateCollege.com's earlier and ongoing coverage of the Penn State-charges situation