Abstract:

Using responses to on-line quizzes, this study examines some of the academic and non-academic characteristics of first-year students in undergraduate Biology studies during the Bologna adaptation in Spain. Preparation in secondary schools is analyzed through the obtained mark in the Spanish University Access Tests ("Prueba de Acceso a la Universidad", PAU) in comparison to a numerical reasoning test to evaluate math skills made at the beginning of the academic year. Optional subjects chosen in the secondary School in correlation to the needed requirements to follow successfully Biology studies are also considered. Finally some non-academic characteristics as gender or part-time employment are investigated. The study has been made in the interval between the years 2007 and 2015, just during the adaptation of the Spanish university system to the guidelines of the European Higher Education Area.