Your Curriculum

Funeral Service Education
Restricted Entry,
Associate of Applied Science Degree Program

Catalog Year 2013-2014* 

*Information regarding the requirements for this Restricted Entry program is available by accessing the Admission Requirements page.

MHCC Faculty Adviser:
Doug Ferrin: 503-491-6940 - Room AC 1555
Doug.Ferrin@mhcc.edu 

The Associate of Applied Science in Funeral Service program at Mt. Hood Community College is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE) 3423 Ashland Ave., Suite G, St. Joseph, Missouri, 64506 (816) 233-3747. Web: www.abfse.org. Transfer credit from an accredited college or university may apply against comparable courses offered in the curriculum.

Program Objective

To empower individuals to provide compassionate and professional care of the deceased and of the bereaved.

Program Outcomes

At the completion of this program, the student should be able to:

• Perform embalming at a basic level of proficiency
• Perform funeral directing at a basic level of proficiency
• Discuss the history and current trends in the funeral service profession
• Demonstrate the proficiency and skills needed to function as an entry-level funeral services professional
• Demonstrate responsibilities of the funeral service profession
• Demonstrate high standards of moral conduct in all funeral service settings
• Apply cognitive knowledge and demonstrate professional behavior and psychomotor skills required to function effectively in the funeral service industry
• Perform research in the funeral service industry
• Become life-long learners.

The degree offered by Mt. Hood Community College can be earned by following a prescribed course of instruction which requires six quarters in residence. Transferring all non-FSE classes from accredited institutions may allow a student to complete his/her professional course work in a three-quarter sequence, beginning each fall quarter.

According to accreditation standards of the American Board of Funeral Service Education, an individual must take the National Board Examination as written by the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards, in order to complete the Funeral Service degree from any accredited program. Therefore, in addition to successfully passing required FSE courses, students must take the National Board Exam to graduate from the Funeral Service Education program at MHCC.

The annual passage rate of first-time takers on the National Board Examination for the most recent three-year period for this institution and all ABSFE accredited funeral service education programs is posted on the ABFSE website: www.abfse.org.

MHCC National Board Passage Rate Exhibit 

¹Please refer to this program’s MHCC Web page for results from prior years’ data.
² The percent passing both halves of the National Board Exam is no longer calculated.

Prospective students must satisfactorily meet admission program criteria and the application deadline to be considered for admission. Application packets are available on our website at www.mhcc.edu/LRadmissions. Once you have read the application materials, if you have questions about the admission process, you can call 503-491-7220. Application deadline is in February.

Note: All Funeral Science Education degree requirements must be completed with a grade of “C” or better.

¹ Students may not use demonstrated proficiency on the College Placement Test (CPT) to satisfy this requirement. MTH065 must be taken prior to or concurrently with CH103.
² Students must achieve a 2.0 or better grade-point average for acceptance into fourth quarter. Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all FSE courses.
³ All first-year non-FSE coursework must be completed prior to entering the fourth quarter of the program.
⁴ Students may elect to take the internship for three credits (FSE240A) in any two terms, summer, fall, winter or spring.

Note: While graduation from high school is not required for admission to the college, national accreditation standards require that a high school diploma or the equivalent be on file before the student can be admitted to the Funeral Service Education program. 15 college-level credits may be substituted for this requirement.

Criteria for selecting students gives priority to those applicants who have apprentice experience. Somewhat less priority is given to those with related work experience. Another criteria gives priority to applicants from Oregon, then slightly less priority for Washington, Idaho, and Montana applicants. All other states are treated equally. Students from California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Washington automatically pay in-state tuition.

More information is available, including the FSE student handbook, at www.mhcc.edu/programs