Funeral Services Program Improvement and Viability Committee

Committee Membership

Committee approved at the September 12, 2024 Cañada Academic Senate meeting. 

  • Chair: Doug Hirzel
  • Counselor: Sandra Mendez
  • Candice Nance
  • David Eck
  • Gina Hooper
  • Dean Ameer Thompson
  • Dean Karen Engel

Committee Meetings

If you would like to receive direct emails and calendar invites about upcoming meetings, including the agendas, please share your contact information with Chair Doug Hirzel (hirzel@smccd.edu). 

If you would like to provide feedback for the Progam Improvement and Viability Committee, you are welcome to use the following form: 

Public Comment and Feedback

Agenda and zoom link will be shared at least three days in advance of a committee meeting. 

Historical Context of the Funeral Services Education Program

The idea of creating a Funeral Services Education (FSE) program at Cañada has been considered since 2018 in response to funding made available by the Strong Workforce Program (SWP).  The goal of the SWP is to create 1 million more middle skill workers through the investment of funds into “more and better” Career Technical Education (CTE). 
The college’s Director of Workforce Development, local biology faculty, consulting faculty from the Mortuary Sciences program at Cypress College, and the college’s Vice President of Instruction (from 2018-2022). 
The program’s curriculum was modeled after the FSE program at American River College in Sacramento.  The program’s degree and curriculum were endorsed by its local Advisory Board and then was locally approved by Cañada’s curriculum committee in November 2020.  Based upon Labor Market Information (LMI) provided by the Bay Area Centers of Excellence, the A.S. degree program was recommended for approval by the Bay Area Community College Consortium.   Approval of the degree and program by the State Chancellor’s Office occurred in spring 2021.  The curriculum was revised in 2023 to include two certificates: Funeral Services Attendant and Funeral Services Arranger.  These were locally approved in fall 2023. 
Due to poor and limited marketing only a couple of students enrolled in the first introductory course when first offered in fall 2022.  In response, the curriculum was revised, new certificates were created and marketing and outreach conducted.  When the introductory course was next offered in fall 2023, 23 students registered.  Current FSE students have testified passionately to the SMCCD Board of Trustees about their need for this program, for it to be local in the Bay Area, and for it to be accessible to working adults.
The program’s development, staff and instruction is funded by the SWP.  Current staff include one FT (non-faculty) Program Director and one adjunct faculty instructor. 
The overall structure of the FSE program is comparable to Cañada’s Radiologic Technology program.  It takes approximately 2 years, once prerequisite courses are completed, to complete the A.S. degree.  When fully implemented, the program will run two cohorts of 20-25 students each year which requires approximately 2 FTEF each semester. 
The American Board of Funeral Services Education (ABFSE) is the national accrediting agency.  ABFSE accreditation is required for programs that prepare students to become licensed embalmers.  A program need not be accredited to prepare students for other careers in funeral services such as Funeral Attendant, Funeral Arranger, or Funeral Director.  Among many accreditation requirements, the ABFSE requires (by 2027) that all accredited programs have 2 full-time faculty in the program.  Original standards, upon which Cañada’s program was developed, did not include a requirement for a full-time faculty member.  We had anticipated staffing the program with one FT faculty along with additional adjunct faculty. 
Cañada’s application for candidacy was denied by ABFSE in April 2024, in part, due to the college’s concern over the requirement for 2 FT faculty.  We currently have zero FT faculty since the program is funded by SWP and not Fund 1.  Upon receipt of ABFSE’s denial letter, Cañada's administration informed current FSE students that our FSE program was no longer on track to become accredited and that without ABFSE accreditation, the College cannot prepare students to become licensed embalmers.  The administration pledged to continue offering the coursework necessary for completing the two program certificates but has not committed to offering the additional courses for the major.  The administration subsequently assisted several students in transferring to the FSE program at American River College and canceled the planned fall 2024 offering of the Introduction to Funeral Service course.  As students perceived the FSE program at Cañada to be in jeopardy, they and members of the FSE Advisory Board sought support from the SMCCD Board of Trustees.  In response, the administration came in September 2024 to the Academic Senate which voted to recommend the FSE program to enter the Program Improvement and Viability (PIV) process.  A PIV task force was established consisting of the FSE Program Director, four faculty, and two deans. 
The work of the PIV Task Force will be informed by all constituency groups and publicly available for review and input.  The Task Force will share its work with Cañada’s Academic Senate, Instruction Planning Council and Planning & Budgeting Council.  Possible recommendations to the College President include: (a) Continue the FSE program as currently designed, (b) Revitalize/revise the FSE program, (c) Suspend the FSE program for a period of time, or (d) Discontinue the FSE program.