How to build a peer group in Clema

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Table of Contents

Introduction

A peer group is the building block for every benchmarking comparison IR teams run. Get the group wrong and the comparison is misleading; get it right and the same group answers dozens of cabinet questions. Clema builds the group in plain English from IPEDS attributes and pulls any metric for the group in one conversation. This is the step-by-step.

Pick Your Criteria

1

Carnegie class

The most common anchor. Pick your current Carnegie class (e.g. Masters Colleges and Universities, Baccalaureate Colleges). Clema returns the institutions in that class.

2

Control (public or private)

Filter by control to keep public-vs-private comparisons clean. Mixing control distorts finance and tuition benchmarks.

3

Region or state

Optional. Useful for enrollment comparisons where regional demographics matter. Less useful for finance benchmarks.

4

Federal designation

Optional filter by HSI, HBCU, AANHPI, tribal, or other designation. Useful for accountability comparisons within a designation cohort.

Ask Clema for the Group

The prompt is the criteria, in plain English. Example: "Build a peer group of public Masters Colleges and Universities in the Southwest, sorted by enrollment size." Clema returns the list with each institution's IPEDS unit ID, Carnegie class, control, and region, and shows the criteria it used. If the criteria are wrong, refine in the same conversation rather than starting over.

Validate the Group

Before pulling any metrics, validate the group. Look for institutions you know are not real peers (different mission, different size tier) and exclude them. Save the validated group as a named peer set in Clema so the same group can be reused across questions. A stable peer group across years is what makes the benchmark defensible to accreditors and cabinets.

Pull a Metric for the Group

With the group set, ask for any metric. Example: "Give me the 150% graduation rate for this peer group for the latest IPEDS year, with my institution highlighted." Clema returns the table with your institution flagged and the federal source and year shown. Repeat for retention, FTE, net price, or finance metrics; the group does not change.

Export or Embed

Export the result as CSV for a board memo, or embed the query as a widget in your IR portal or a Power BI dashboard so the comparison refreshes automatically with the next IPEDS release. See the peer benchmarking product page for the embed options.

Build your first peer group in Clema

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Written by

Clema Research Team

The Clema research team publishes original analysis and practical guides for institutional research and institutional effectiveness professionals.

Frequently asked questions

How do I build a peer group in Clema?

Pick your criteria (Carnegie class, control, region, designation), ask Clema in plain English to build the group, validate the list, save it as a named peer set, then pull any metric for the group with your institution highlighted. The federal source and year are shown on every figure.

Should I include public and private institutions in the same peer group?

Usually no. Mixing control distorts finance and tuition benchmarks because public and private institutions have different revenue structures, tuition discounting, and state funding. Build separate peer groups by control if you need both.

How do I keep a peer group stable across years?

Save the validated group as a named peer set in Clema and reuse it across questions. Do not redefine the criteria each year. A stable group across years is what makes the benchmark defensible to accreditors and cabinets.

How to Build a Peer Group in Clema