Science competency of students enrolling and graduating at University

This study presents results that show the science competency of students enrolling at the School of Biochemistry and Biological Sciences (first year of the courses of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of the Universidad Nacional del Litoral de Santa Fe, Argentina) and what competency they have when they finish University (fifth year of the same courses). To collect the information, two ad hoc questionnaires were drafted: one with questions addressing three science subcompetencies, the other one was used to examine the influence that certain contextual factors might have had on these competencies performance. The results indicate that first-year students start with a low performance level for all the science subcompetencies assessed. After instruction, in the last years, the competencies develop favorably, more so among students of Biochemistry than among those of Biotechnology.