Abstract
Anecdotes abound in departmental curriculum committees surrounding the purpose and necessity of prerequisite courses for major subjects. Some believe that a student should have as much exposure as possible to subject matter prior to attempting to gain a full understanding of the material. Others believe that prerequisite courses put an undue burden on students to take excessive coursework and that most of the students’ needs can be provided in a single course. The objective of this study was to ascertain the influence of prerequisite courses in animal science, biology, and chemistry on performance of students in an undergraduate animal science course. In the spring semester of 2019, students taking the animal nutrition course at Tarleton State University were enrolled in the experiment. On the second day of class, students were given a comprehensive exam resembling a final examination to assess knowledge on entry to the course. Subsequently, students completed an online survey to record demographics and educational background in relevant courses. Data were analyzed using PROC MIXED and PROC CORR of SAS v. 9.4. Females had an average score of 39 and males had an average score of 35 on the pre-test, but these numbers were statistically similar (P = 0.16). Student scores on the pre-tests were positively correlated the number of biology (r = 0.52; P < 0.01) and chemistry (r = 0.46; P < 0.01) courses taken, but showed no association (r = 0.14; P = 0.37) with the number of previous animal science courses. Similarly, the number of previously taken biology and chemistry courses were positively correlated (r = 0.70; P < 0.01). Results are interpreted to mean that prior experience in biology and chemistry, but not animal science, are major factors for student performance in animal nutrition and should be considered for prerequisite courses.