A Case Study to Examine Peer Grouping and Aspirant Selection. Professional File. Article 132, Fall 2013

Peer selection based on the similarity of a couple of institutional parameters, by itself, is insufficient. Several other considerations, including clarity of purpose, alignment of institutional information to that purpose, identification of appropriate statistical procedures, review of preliminary...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAssociation for Institutional Research
Main Authors D'Allegro, Mary Lou, Zhou, Kai
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Association for Institutional Research 2013
Subjects
Case Studies
Data Collection
Institutional Characteristics
Institutions
Mixed Methods Research
Multivariate Analysis
Private Colleges
Selection
Selection Tools
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Summary:Peer selection based on the similarity of a couple of institutional parameters, by itself, is insufficient. Several other considerations, including clarity of purpose, alignment of institutional information to that purpose, identification of appropriate statistical procedures, review of preliminary peer sets, and the application of additional metrics need to be part of the process. At the heart of the paper is a detailed description of a mixed-methods approach deployed to identify institutional peer and aspirant groups for a private nonprofit 4-year liberal arts college. As part of the methodology, an aspirant index is proposed and explained by the authors. This coefficient is applied to a preliminary set of institutions to further refine the aspirant list. This paper inventories the methods documented in other research and resources that can be used to select peers. This compendium is intended to inform customized amalgamation of methods that could potentially augment future peer selection endeavors and benchmarking studies. The following are appended: (1) Data Elements Used for Peer and Aspirant Selection: Time Frame, Indicator Type, and Source; (2) Data Element Used for Peer and Aspirant Selection: Descriptions; (3) Siena College Peers and Aspirant Lists; and (4) Peer Selection Websites. [For "Tracking the Discount: Tuition Discount Rates, Net Tuition Revenue, and Efforts to Inform Institutional Practices. Professional File. Article 133, Fall 2013," see ED573092. For "Unrealized Educational Expectations a Growing or Diminishing Gender Gap? It Depends on Your Definition. Professional File. Article 134, Fall 2013," see ED573090.]
ISSN:2155-7535