The AOG Responds

I received the following response to my open letter to the AOG on 21 Jun 2022. With Mr. Hornsby's permission, I'm posting his entire email here:

Dear Mr. Dunphy:

Thank you for taking the time to share robust feedback on the Association of Graduates’ 2022 survey of USAFA graduates. Your thoughtful analysis is greatly appreciated.

I discussed your analysis with Naviere Walkewicz ’99, Senior Vice President of Alumni Relations and Business Development, and would like to share some information that I hope will be helpful in providing context.

The main goals of the 2022 survey were to: 1) solicit graduate feedback as the AOG commences its strategic planning to create an association that is a value-add for grads and has influence and impact, 2) establish new baselines that we can measure against to assess effectiveness going forward, and 3) share in a transparent fashion how graduates feel about their Academy and association today. We anticipate a more regular cadence of graduate surveys moving forward, with the next survey slated for 2025.

As you noted in your analysis, the response rate was strong, yielding high-quality data. The AOG tapped every channel and connection to get the word out to graduates. In the June issue of Checkpoints, our intention was to share some of the main findings, most especially those related to the 6 personas, as well as the methodology we followed. Later this summer, as indicated in the June magazine, the AOG will publish more detailed results. In the meantime, we are analyzing the data, both qualitative and quantitative, as we move through strategic planning.

You have raised some excellent points about the 2006 survey. Allow me to offer some additional information about the differences and why we did not compare the 2006 and 2022 surveys in Checkpoints. The 2006 and 2022 surveys had different audience scopes, with the 2006 survey open only to AOG members and the 2022 survey open to all graduates, including those who are not members of the AOG. The 2022 survey was open to all graduates by intention as the association moves to a new no-cost membership model, and we wanted to ensure every graduate could provide feedback that can be taken into account for strategic planning. Additionally, the 16 years between the surveys was too much time to be able to compare with precision the two sets of results.

On pride, I appreciate your analysis! That 80% of USAFA grads surveyed revealed varying positive levels of pride in the Academy is quite encouraging. Because the 2006 and 2022 surveys had different audience scopes, it is very hard to determine if pride in fact has dropped. We do know from the 2022 survey that societal influences, such as those related to politics, have shaped opinions of the Academy, both positive and negative. That is in line with what is happening at many colleges and universities nationally.

We would love to run your letter in the September issue of Checkpoints. The word count limit for letters to the editor is 200. Would you be willing to get your letter to 200 words? We will then run it.

Again, thank you for your analysis and thoughtfulness. I would like to stay in touch with you and share updates as our process advances, if that would be OK. I value your perspective.

 

Respectfully,

Wyatt C. Hornsby, APR

Vice President, Marketing & Communications | Executive Editor

Air Force Academy Foundation and Association of Graduates

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