A group of politicians, retired generals and Air Force Academy graduates gave mostly positive marks on Friday for a survey gauging satisfaction, tolerance and discrimination at the Air Force Academy, with one person deeming the results “impressive.”

But the low participation rate by academy cadets — 15 percent of those polled responded — stuck out as a sore subject after a review by the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors.

The paltry response rate meant that survey administrators couldn’t segment results by class, gender, race or religion.

“I was distressed to see you only got a 15 percent response rate from the cadets,” said Susan Schwab, a former ambassador and the board’s chairwoman.

The review came at the beginning of the board’s two-day gathering, a biannual meeting similar to those held by public university’s boards of trustees. The board, which cannot allocate funding, also meets in Washington D.C., with the next meeting set for December.

The Air Force Manpower Agency conducted the cadet survey via email, said Michael Dickerson, spokesman for the Air Force Personnel Center, which oversees the agency. He said on Friday that he could not provide an estimate of the cost of the survey.

The board largely focused on results that showed 81 percent of cadets were satisfied with their experience at the academy over the past two years.

The figure mirrors a 2010 Air Force-wide study on satisfaction with the service, which also found an 81-percent satisfaction rate, said Lt. Gen. Darrell Jones, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel and services.

Some connected the low response rate to the cadets’ satisfaction with the academy. “If they really were disgruntled, I think it would have shown up in their participation,” said Fletcher “Flash” Wiley, president of PRWT Holdings.

A focus group of cadets later complained of the survey’s length and said cadets are asked to take too many surveys — leaving voluntary surveys a low priority.

The survey found 53 percent of respondents perceived preferential treatment based on intercollegiate status. Survey administrators clarified that this was a two-way street — many cadets felt athletes were treated more favorably, while athletes felt the same about other cadets.

Schwab cheered survey results that found cadets and faculty largely don’t perceive a culture of religious intolerance at the academy. An overwhelming number of cadets and faculty also said their superiors didn’t try to make unwanted attempts at conversion, though 14 percent of cadets said fellow cadets without authority over them had made such overtures.

Nearly two-thirds of cadets said that underage drinking at the academy happens at least once a month.

Commandant Brig. Gen. Gregory Lengyel said after the meeting that the academy is working to fix the problem, but it is largely up to cadets to police themselves.

Cadets march in a parade at the Air Force Academy. Photo by The Gazette file