The commission responsible for accrediting the Air Force Academy is looking into a complaint that the school may not have sufficient numbers and quality of faculty to maintain its academic programs. 

Retired Air Force Col. Kent Murphy filed the complaint over faculty cuts with the Higher Learning Commission and received an official response saying it raised “potential concerns regarding the institution’s compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation.”

The Higher Learning Commission, an independent agency, said in the letter that it planned to require the Air Force Academy to respond to the concerns about staff cuts in writing and provide supporting evidence. The school had about two weeks to respond on Friday, Murphy said. The commission gave the school 30 days to answer.

The commission accredits universities across the country as a whole by evaluating their mission, governance, educational programs and plans for improvement, among other metrics. 

A college’s accreditation is critical because it allows students to transfer their credit hours to other institutions. If the Air Force Academy lost its accreditation, a cadet could lose the opportunity to attend graduate school, explained retired Air Force Lt. Col. Tony Aretz, who spent his military career at the Air Force Academy before pursuing a career in college administration. Aretz didn’t think it was likely the academy would lose accreditation, but the complaint could trigger several layers of review if the commission is not satisfied with the written response. Follow-up steps could include a site visit and probation. 

Aretz led two colleges and understands the leadership challenges of keeping alumni, faculty, staff, students and accreditation bodies all happy. But accreditation must be a high priority. 

“You have to have accreditation; otherwise, you lose the game,” said Aretz, who helped with the complaint.  

Murphy said one of the key issues is the recent loss of highly experienced and qualified instructors in technical departments, such as aeronautics, astrophysics and mechanical engineering.

“We are losing lots of our Ph.D.s,” he said. “Those are the people that are very valuable.” 

Top-level instructors are needed to teach higher-level courses and oversee more junior-level staff.

Losing the top-level instructors will erode the quality of the education at a time when the Air Force needs to innovate to keep up with the challenges of peer adversaries, The Gazette reported earlier. 

For example, pilots of F-35s could have a team of drones flying alongside them, taking on more risky tasks.

It’s a vision that will take highly educated Air Force officers to ask contractors questions and oversee the process to develop the unmanned systems that will be used in the next war.

The U.S. Air Force Academy said in a statement it received a request from the Higher Learning Commission, and it intends to respond in accordance with established protocols. 

“We are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of academic rigor, upholding the standards for accreditation, and complying with the HLC’s assumed practices for higher education,” the statement said. “We welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with HLC, addressing any concerns and demonstrating our commitment to excellence in education.”

In April, the Academy employed 491 faculty members, with 308 uniformed members and 183 civilians. The institution phased out 52 faculty and administration staff positions earlier this year because it was over budget for civilian pay. 

The elimination of 52 positions is one phase of cutbacks that started in the summer of 2024, said a professor who asked to not be identified for fear of retribution. The instructor estimates that if cuts that have been considered continue about 90 civilian instructors with doctoral degrees will have departed by next year.

The Air Force Academy did not address a question posed on Friday about the number of faculty positions that have been lost. But there is ongoing disagreement between the administration and faculty members over the true number of lost positions.

The academy sees about 25% annual turnover among its faculty as military staff arrive, Academy leadership said previously. 

But bringing in doctoral-level military officers to fill positions previously held by civilians with doctoral degrees was expected to be tough because those officers are often considered mission-critical in their current positions, Murphy said. 

Aretz and Murphy said they hoped the complaint would lead to the Higher Learning Commission sending a team to visit the Academy to get a sense of the academic environment and ultimately stop cuts to civilian faculty.

Academy teaching staff have already seen their class sizes grow and have been required to take on additional sections, where professors typically teach the same material to another group of students, the unnamed professor said. 

If additional professors leave because of low morale, it could worsen the problems, Aretz said. It’s likely the Academy will have to consider restructuring and eliminating majors to handle the staff departures, he said.

Superintendent Tony Bauernfeind said in August when staffing concerns were raised that no academic majors had been cut. He also noted that two minors in aerospace materials and quantum have been added.