Who Are Our Peers? Using k-Prototypes Clustering to Construct Institutional Peer Groups

Scott Simpson

No phnaw_v1, EdArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: This article presents a reproducible public-data methodology for constructing institutional peer groups in higher education. Using Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data, we develop a two-stage k-prototypes clustering workflow that accommodates both numerical and categorical institutional features. The first stage identifies a broad institutional comparison set across all IPEDS institutions, while the second stage reclusters institutions within the focal institution’s global cluster to identify a more focused local peer group. Using St. Bonaventure University as a case example, the procedure identified a global comparison cluster of 1,132 institutions and a local peer cluster of 247 institutions. We further use a random forest classifier and shallow decision-tree surrogate to summarize the institutional characteristics that distinguish the resulting local clusters. The framework provides a transparent and adaptable approach for institutional peer-group construction using publicly available data and open-source analytical tools.

Date: 2026-10-27
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://osf.io/download/6ae0a51ce9c54efe9f13fcfa/

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:edarxi:phnaw_v1

DOI: 10.35542/osf.io/phnaw_v1

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in EdArXiv from Center for Open Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by OSF ().