STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Tarleton State University has updated its list of institutions to benchmark against in pursuit of its strategic plan, Tarleton Forward 2030.

From more than 7,000 U.S. colleges and universities, Tarleton researchers analyzed five years of data, identifying 133 candidates from 42 states matching Tarleton’s profile. They engineered nearly two dozen features for leaders to consider that correlate to objectives in the university’s 10-year blueprint for the future.

“As we pursue the grand vision of Tarleton Forward 2030, the peer and aspirant list will provide both insights for achieving our goals and guideposts to evaluate our progress,” said Dr. Credence Baker, Vice President for University Relations. 

Through scaling, dimensionality reduction and weighted averaging, Dr. Scott Cook, Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Mathematics Department, assigned a score to rank each candidate university’s similarities to Tarleton. He noted six peers as consistently similar to Tarleton and six aspirants that resemble Tarleton’s vision for the next decade.

East Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, Indiana State, Louisiana Tech, Stephen F. Austin (Texas) and Troy University (Ala.) were consistently similar to Tarleton over the past five years. Appalachian State (N.C.), Ball State (Ind.), Boise State (Idaho), James Madison (Va.), Sam Houston State (Texas) and South Alabama are ahead in terms of strategic outcomes.

For senior undergraduate math major Aurod Ounsinegad, the research constituted his honor thesis.

“It’s worth noting that significant contributions came from Aurod,” Dr. Cook said. “I think it says something special about Tarleton that we gave an undergraduate student an opportunity to apply the data science skills he’s learning in the classroom to significantly and permanently impact the trajectory of our university.”

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.