Presented By: Joey Mehlhorn, University of Tennessee Martin
Co-Authors: Brittany Cole, University of Tennessee Martin
Jason Roberts, University of Tennessee Martin

Many students struggle with academic anxiety. Previous research documents the calming influence of animals, and some universities utilize therapy dogs for student mental health care. Over six hundred business students are surveyed to quantify student perceptions of animal interactions in the classroom. Students are surveyed over eleven semesters in three different upper-level finance courses and divided into two matched samples based on academic characteristics. One group interacts with an Australian Shepherd prior to exams, and one group does not. Interactions include treat-based training, brushing, and observation based on student choice. Student perceptions of animal interaction are surveyed in the classroom pre-and-post exam and interaction. Over 75% of students find value in animal interactions. Students note value as reduced anxiety, increased confidence, reduced stress, and increased enjoyment of class material. Over 90% of students in the interaction group feel animal interaction increases exam performance and increases comfort with material. Student perception of classroom animal engagement may differ among student subgroups. When student responses are separated by GPA, 99% of students with a GPA below 3.00 feel animal interaction improves exam grade, compared to only 65% of students with a GPA of 3.00 or above. This 34-percentage point difference is significant at the 1% level. Students with a GPA below 3.00 indicate higher levels of exam stress and grade anxiety than students with a GPA of 3.00 or higher (using a self-reported scale of one to ten), highlighting that animal interaction is more beneficial to students with lower grades and higher levels of anxiety. Similar evidence is found by grade year; a larger number of sophomore and junior students (94%) find the interactions beneficial to overall performance compared to senior students (69%). Results show the importance of addressing student stress management and using creative solutions, like therapy dogs, to improve student performance.