"A study presented this week at the annual forum of the Association for Institutional Research suggests that, at least in one case, a state merit-based financial aid program may be working directly at odds with another priority that is near the top of concerns of most state and federal policy makers and educators: increasing the flow of Americans into scientific and technological fields," Inside Higher Ed reports. "What explains the decrease in enrollment in science and math fields? 'One plausible explanation,' Shouping Hu, associate professor of higher education at Florida State University, writes, is that students may have sought to 'bump up' their college grades to try to qualify for, or increase the size of, their merit awards. 'That is, merit-based financial aid using college GPA as a criterion for renewal could provide incentives for students not to choose degree programs in science and engineering' - which are generally seen as more difficult, Hu notes - 'so that they have a better chance to qualify for the merit-based financial aid.'"