The preliminary findings of the National Science Foundation's survey of scientific and engineering expenditures at universities and colleges for FY 1976 reveal that: (1) research and development (R & D) expenditures totaled $3.7 billion, a nine percent increase over the previous year; after discounting inflationary effects, this represents a real-dollar growth of two percent, the same growth as in 1975; (2) federal agencies continued to sponsor two-thirds of academic R&D activities, although constant-dollar increases in nonfederal spending outpaced federal growth; (3) basic research expenditures rose five percent to $2.5 billion and accounted for 68 percent of all academic R&D activities in 1976; this portion has declined from 77 percent in 1970; and (4) the most rapid current-dollar growth in major scientific disciplines occurred in engineering and the physical and environmental sciences; activities in mathematics and psychology actually decreased. (Author/MSE)