At the request of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Higher Education Panel (a stratified sample of 760 colleges and universities) collected information on the level of institutional expenditures for research equipment, the federal contribution to those expenditures, and the share of funds expended for high-cost items. The data were intended to analyze the impact of federal funding on equipment expenditures and the probable effects of various policy alternatives. It was found that during FY 1978 approximately $280 million was spent at Ph.D.-granting institutions for the purchase of scientific research equipment. Half of this amount was used in the life sciences, 19 percent in engineering disciplines, and 16 percent in the physical sciences. The federal government financed 65 percent of equipment purchases made from current funds; that proportion was 59 percent at public institutions and 75 percent at private institutions. For all science fields, 9 percent of research equipment expenditures from current funds were for items costing $50,000 or more. In electrical and computer engineering and in chemistry, that proportion was approximately 27 percent. When comparing FY 1978 equipment expenditures with the average for the previous three years, nearly half of respondents indicated that expenditures from current funds were about the same; one-third indicated they were greater. Expenditures for separately budgeted scientific research equipment from current funds comprised about 6 percent of all research and development expenditures at doctorate-granting institutions in FY 1978. Data tables are included, as are the survey instrument and instructions. A list of disciplines in the various categories used is appended. Also appended are a response analysis and the stratification design. (MSE)