K-Means cluster optimization for potentiality student grouping using elbow method

The grouping of potential students conducts to determine the student's interest and increase the student's academic performance. The K-Means algorithm could do collection or clusterization. This study aims to implement one of the Machine Learning algorithms, K-Means, to classify the potential of interest grouping of Informatics Engineering student's batch 2019 at the Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto. The process of categorization was based on average course values, which are a part of student specializations, namely 1) Intelligent Systems (IS), 2) Software Engineering (SE), 3) Computer Networks (CN), and 4) Multimedia (MM), as well as student's GPA data (semester 1 to semester 4). Moreover, this research involves the Elbow method for determining the number of optimal clusters and Sum of Squared Errors (SSE) as a cluster validation technique. From the Elbow process, Within Cluster Sum of Squares (WCSS) significantly decreases when K is significantly upwards from 2 to 3, and the SSE maximum rate of change is 71.29 %. Therefore, the optimal cluster is 3. With K-Means clustering results, the majority of the students (62 or 41.05 %) are assigned to the Intelligent System group, the second majority (59 or 39.07 %) to the Multimedia group. At the same time, a cluster of Computer Networks was the group with the fewest members.