Sixty-four percent of Granite State residents did not agree with the state legislature’s decision to cut funding by 50 percent for public colleges and universities in New Hampshire, according to the latest Granite State Poll conducted by the UNH Survey Center.

Five hundred eighty one (581) randomly selected New Hampshire adults were interviewed by telephone between Aug. 1 and 12, 2012. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 4.1 percent.

The survey also found that eighty-four percent of those polled believe keeping public colleges affordable is worth an investment in state tax dollars, and 71 percent favor restoring the state funding if in-state tuition rates are frozen at current levels. That number jumps to 81 percent if additional funds are made available for financial aid for lower income students.

The USNH board of trustees is expected to vote Sept. 11, 2012, to ask the state legislature to restore funding to $100 million in return for no tuition...