K-Prototypes Algorithm for School Indexing in Report Card-Based Student Admissions

Institut Pertanian Bogor, also known as IPB University, is a state university that was ranked first as the best university in Indonesia by the Ministry of Research and Technology in 2020. It has three main channels in the new student admission selection system. The selection method is called “Seleksi Nasional Berdasarkan Prestasi”. “Seleksi Nasional Berdasarkan Prestasi” is one of the new student admission pathways at IPB University based on report cards without a test. The selection of new student admissions based on report cards requires creating a school index to assess the quality and commitment of each school by grouping schools among “Seleksi Nasional Berdasarkan Prestasi” applicants. One method that can be used is the K-Prototypes algorithm. K-Prototypes can be used to cluster large and mixed-type data (numeric and categorical) by combining distance measures from two non-hierarchical methods, namely the K-Means and K-Modes algorithms. Based on the analysis, the K-Prototypes algorithm yields three optimal clusters, each with distinct characteristics. Cluster 1 is the lowest cluster because it comprises schools with the lowest quality and commitment to new student admissions at IPB University, as indicated by the report card. Cluster 2 has a quality that is not superior to Cluster 3 but is higher than that of Cluster 1. Cluster 3 is the best cluster because it consists of schools that have high quality and commitment to new student admissions at IPB University through the report card route.