The University of Michigan is under federal scrutiny after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the United States.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of the General Counsel announced on Tuesday that it had opened a foreign funding investigation.

The Department of Education (DOE) on Tuesday announced that it's opening a "foreign funding" investigation into the University of Michigan. UM spokesperson Colleen Mastony told the Associated Press in a statement that the university will cooperate with federal investigators and takes its responsibility to comply with the law "extremely seriously.