I.R.S. Apparently Is Scrutinizing Student Compliance With Tax Law

WASHINGTON--A request by the Internal Revenue Service for scholarship records from Harvard University has raised the possibility that the agency may be more closely scrutinizing students' compliance with a law making some scholarship money subject to federal income taxes.

At the request of the I.R.S., Harvard officials have given the agency records on an estimated 3,500 scholarship recipients, a lawyer for the university said last week.

The lawyer, Marianna Pierce, said "it was never quite clear'' why the I.R.S....