Military Service Academies: Actions Needed to Better Assess Organizational Climate
Fast Facts
Military service academies play a key role in shaping leaders for a diverse military. Students can file equal opportunity complaints when issues of discrimination and harassment arise, but incidents not submitted through the complaint processing system aren't always fully captured.
In addition, the academies administer a survey to collect information on the organizational climate, but the results do not always provide complete and reliable information.
The academies have taken some actions to improve the climate, like recognizing the need to recruit more diverse faculty, but need to develop measures to assess the success of their actions.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The United States Military Academy, United States Naval Academy, and United States Air Force Academy collect information about their organizational climate using a variety of tools. However, the DOD climate survey—the academies' primary tool for collecting information—does not provide complete and reliable information. Specifically, the survey has methodological issues concerning security, response rates, and post-survey weighting that limit its usability. In addition, while the academies monitor the number and basis of equal opportunity complaints, they do not fully capture information on alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment that are not submitted through the complaint processing system. DOD is taking steps to address methodological issues with its survey, but without addressing alleged incidents that are not submitted through the complaint processing system, the academies will continue to have an incomplete picture of their organizational climate. This will limit the academies' ability to identify problems, implement actions, and measure outcomes.
Steps for Identifying and Correcting Organizational Climate Problems
The service academies have taken actions to improve organizational climate by incorporating leading practices for managing workforce diversity. Specifically, the academies have taken action to demonstrate leadership commitment, employ strategic planning, improve student involvement, and enhance recruitment, among others. For example, between 2019 and 2021, all three academies developed diversity and inclusion strategic plans, and each academy has created or restructured student leadership positions related to diversity and inclusion.
Each academy has plans to measure the effect of its actions aimed at improving climate. However, they are unable to assess their actions' effectiveness because they have not fully developed or implemented performance measures, such as measures to review disciplinary actions for bias. Without such measures, the academies cannot hold accountable those responsible for the actions.
Students at the academies expressed a range of perceptions regarding the academies' organizational climate in 34 GAO-conducted focus groups. For example, while most groups organized by race and ethnicity agreed that the use of offensive terms or slurs is uncommon, these groups differed in their view of how well command officials work with individuals from diverse backgrounds. However, most focus groups agreed that they would recommend the academy to a friend or family member.
Why GAO Did This Study
According to the Department of Defense, creating an inclusive environment free from harassment and discrimination is a priority. As the military service academies are a major source of officer commissions, accounting for approximately 18 percent of all officer commissions in fiscal year 2019, they play a key role developing officers who will be responsible for leading a diverse military.
The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 included a provision for GAO to report on equal opportunity claims, climate surveys, and programs to address climate issues at the military service academies. Specifically, this report addresses (1) the extent to which the academies collect information to develop a complete picture of the climate; (2) the extent to which the academies have taken actions to improve the climate; and (3) the perceptions of current students concerning the climate.
GAO held 34 focus groups with current students across the three service academies, analyzed complaint data from fiscal years 2017 through 2021, reviewed documentation, and interviewed officials.
Recommendations
GAO is making seven recommendations, including that DOD capture information on incidents not submitted through the complaint system and develop performance measures for actions aimed at improving climate. DOD concurred with the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy develops a clear and consistent process to document and report alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment that are not submitted through the complaint processing system. [Recommendation 1] |
The Secretary of the Army concurred with this recommendation. According to an update provided to GAO on December 1, 2022, the United States Military Academy has established a working group to determine data collection requirements for logging alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment that are not submitted through the complaint processing system and the use of an automated system to collect this information. The update states that this information would be used to inform the command of organizational climate issues. As of February 2024, we are continuing to monitor the actions taken to implement this recommendation.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy develops a clear and consistent process to document and report alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment that are not submitted through the complaint processing system. [Recommendation 2] |
The Secretary of the Navy concurred with this recommendation. According to an update provided to GAO on December 1, 2022, the United States Naval Academy is working to develop a tracker to document all alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment that are not submitted through the complaint processing system. The update states that the Academy will document and communicate formal policy on this tracker by March 1, 2023. We are continuing to monitor the actions taken to implement this recommendation.
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| Department of the Air Force | The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure that the Superintendent of the United Stated Air Force Academy develops a clear and consistent process to document and report alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment that are not submitted through the complaint processing system. [Recommendation 3] |
The Secretary of the Air Force concurred with this recommendation. In 2023, the United States Air Force Academy provided information that it had updated and modified its processes concerning incident reporting and data collection. Specifically, the Academy provided instructions clarifying that documentation is required for each incident and specified data collection requirements, including a worksheet for each incident. Additionally, the Academy provided a procedural brief to senior leaders to garner support for consistent reporting. The actions taken by the Academy meet the intent of our recommendation to develop a clear and consistent process to document and report alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment that are not submitted through the complaint processing system.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy develops internal controls that ensure all military equal opportunity complaints are documented in such a way that they are readily available for examination. [Recommendation 4] |
The Secretary of the Navy concurred with this recommendation. According to an update provided to GAO on December 1, 2022, the United States Naval Academy is working to develop new processes to track all formal, informal, and anonymous complaints, including data sharing between key actors. The update further stated that the Academy plans to conduct monthly audits of official complaints. As of February 2024, we are continuing to monitor the actions taken to implement this recommendation.
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| Department of the Army | The Secretary of the Army should ensure that the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy completes the development of performance measures for actions in its diversity, equity, and inclusion plan, and implements them, so that it can assess the effectiveness of its efforts to improve organizational climate. [Recommendation 5] |
The Secretary of the Army concurred with this recommendation. According to an update provided to GAO on December 1, 2022, the United States Military Academy initiated a comprehensive planning effort to update its current Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity Plan in July 2022. According to the update, this review will better align the existing plan with updated guidance from the White House, DOD, U.S. Army, and current expectations within higher education. As of February 2024, we are continuing to monitor the actions taken to implement this recommendation.
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| Department of the Navy | The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that the Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy completes the development of performance measures for actions in its diversity, equity, and inclusion plan, and implements them, so that it can assess the effectiveness of its efforts to improve organizational climate. [Recommendations 6] |
The Secretary of the Navy concurred with this recommendation. According to an update provided to GAO on December 1, 2022, the United States Naval Academy is developing and implementing performance measures to assess the effectiveness of its Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan on improving its organizational climate. However, the update states that current staffing is insufficient to fully develop performance measures for all actions. The estimated implementation date for this corrective action is August 30, 2024. As of February 2024, we are continuing to monitor the actions taken to implement this recommendation.
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| Department of the Air Force | The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure that the Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy completes the development of performance measures for actions in its diversity, equity, and inclusion plan, and implements them, so that it can assess the effectiveness of its efforts to improve organizational climate. [Recommendations 7] |
The Secretary of the Air Force concurred with this recommendation. In 2023, the United States Air Force Academy provided information that it had completed development of performance measures for actions in its diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic plan and implemented them. Specifically, the Academy developed performance measures to assess all major aspects of its plan and has applied them to assess progress in implementing the strategic plan The actions taken by the Academy meet the intent of our recommendation.
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