Funeral Service Education

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Funeral Service Education

• Program Review
• 2006-2007

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Mission Statement

• The mission of the Funeral Service Education
  program at American River College is committed to
  student success. Our aim is to provide each
  student with the appropriate knowledge and skills
  to practice as a competent funeral service
  professional. We support and encourage
  collaboration between faculty, staff, students,
  alumni, advisory committee, and the funeral
  service community.

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Goals and Objectives

• Provide students with knowledge of every phase of
  funeral service.
• Help students develop the proficiency and skills
  necessary to the profession, as defined by the
  national accrediting board.
• Offer students a comprehensive curriculum that
  will challenge their academic abilities.
• Educate students about the responsibilities of
  the funeral service profession toward the
  community at large.

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• Equip students with information related to the
  social, legal, psychological, religious and
  public health issues associated with death.
• Emphasize high standards of ethical conduct.
• Prepare students for success in the National
  Board Exam.
• Prepare students for a career in funeral service.

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History of the FSE Program

• Closure of the San Francisco College of Mortuary
  Science June 2002
• ARCs Initial Accreditation October 2002
• Five Years
• 1 of 2 in California
• 1 of 57 in the United States
• First FSE100 class Fall 2002
• First cohort of program students Spring 2003
• Full-time Coordinator Spring 2003
• Second full-time faculty member Fall 2004

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Curriculum

• Online Course
• FSE100 (Introduction to Funeral Service
  Education)
• New Course
• FSE1000 (California Embalmers Review Course)
• New Curriculum Updates for FSE 111, FSE150,
  FSE155, and FSE170 from the ABFSE

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Enrollment, Productivity and WSCH

• Enrollment
• Slower than expected
• Largest enrollment Spring 2007
• Accept students once per year
• Productivity
• Has continued to increase each year
• Classes have been combined

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• WSCH
• Decreased in fall semester 2006
• Program went to a once per year enrollment

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Program Strengths

• Faculty members are actively involved in
  professional organizations, which allows for
  dialog with funeral service professionals.
• Faculty members gain and share teaching ideas
  through informal discussions and FLEX activities.
• Classroom and laboratory facilities are new, up
  to date, and provide the best environment for
  learning.
• All of our full-time faculty own their own
  computers and use them to develop new materials
  for classroom.
• The faculty work well together.

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Areas for Growth

• Increase the number of students in the program
  this includes ethnicity, gender and age.
• Cycle all faculty through all the courses taught
  in the FSE program. This would help keep
  everyone current and avoid stagnation.
• Continue to explore ways to make the program more
  accessible.

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• Update course outlines to meet the needs of the
  geographical area.
• Create courses for continuing education purposes.
• Tracking and retention of students.
• Increase the number of students graduating from
  the program with degrees.

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Future Recommendations

• To continue to have a presence in the national,
  state, and local funeral service organization.
• To increase student enrollments and retention in
  individual courses, as well as, in the program.
• Continue to market to funeral homes for
  internship opportunities for students as well as
  for support of the program.

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• Develop more online offerings with an
  investigation into an online FSE program.
• Create an interactive website for students,
  alumni and prospective employers.
• Explore possibilities for additional laboratories
  to help reduce current costs of present
  laboratories.