Accreditation Decisions
COA meets two times each year (April and October) and utilizes special meetings, if necessary.
Current decisions of COA are reported on this webpage and decisions since October 2013, may be reviewed under the tab -
Past COA Decisions. Effective in 2019, accreditation decision information is included in the ABFSE Directory of Accredited Programs.
Committee on Accreditation (COA) Actions:
October 2023 The Committee on Accreditation of the
American Board of Funeral Service Education took the following actions regarding these funeral service/mortuary science education programs at the October 18-19, 2023 meeting in Charlotte, NC:
Re-accreditation for a period of seven (7) years
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI Reaccredited with no stipulations.
COA recognized the
strong faculty, an effective advisory board, assessment plan and practicum program, strong administrative support, and a comprehensive Distance Education program as important factors in the
decision.
East Mississippi Community College, Scooba, MS Reaccredited with three (3) stipulations to be addressed by February 15, 2024.
- Provide a document retention policy for Funeral Service Technology specific student documents (i.e., case reports, etc.) that includes
provisions for maintenance of the documents in cases of program staff changes. Standard 3.1.3.b.
- Provide proof that the new curriculum described in the response has been implemented. Standard 5.4
- Provide documentation that the course descriptions for all courses are uniform across all sources of information. Standard 3.1.2
Hudson Valley Community College, Troy, NY Reaccredited with no stipulations.
By March 1, 2024 a progress report is required as
evidence of professional training for faculty using the learning management system, Brightspace. (Appendix E: Standard 6)
Distance Education approved
Cape Cod Community College, Bridgewater, MA
Distance Education denied
Goodwin University, E. Hartford, CT Additional information is required for consideration during summer 2024 site visit.
Substantive Change approved
Worsham College, Wheeling, IL - Associate of Science (AS) degree to replace existing Associate of Applied Science (AAS) and Diploma offerings.
Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service, Decatur, GA - Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree to replace Associate of Science (AS) degree
offering.
Distance Education substantive change application accepted
Miami Dade College, Miami, FL virtual site visit required for approval
Distance Education substantive change application deferred
Milwaukee Area Technical College, West Allis, WI additional information
required
Accreditation decision deferred
Vincennes University, Vincennes, IN Additional information is required for
April 2024 consideration.
Removed from Probation: return to good standing
Malcolm X College, Chicago, IL Probation concerns are satisfied and the program is granted reaccreditation for a seven (7) year period,
effective October 2022, with two (2) stipulations. The stipulations to be addressed by February 15, 2024 are: 1. Submit documentation that the current
curriculum revision is completed. 2. Provide an updated assessment plan.
Probation
Mid-America College of Funeral Service, Jeffersonville, IN The institution and accredited programs are
on Probation status for one year during which issues regarding accreditation standards 1,3,5,6,9,10 are to be addressed. Standard 1
- Provide evidence of a current and viable Advisory Board. Standard 3
- Published materials must accurately reflect the states where the AAS and BSFS degrees meet licensure requirements. _____- Demonstrate
compliant transcript language for non-accredited programs. _____- Provide evidence that students are aware that courses may change from
on-ground to distance delivery. Standard 5 - Update syllabi to accurately portray the college catalog and ABFSE B-6 curriculum distribution. _____-
Provide inspection documentation for off-campus instructional sites. _____- Provide evidence of embalming competency certification by
qualified faculty members and completion of funeral directing tasks. _____- Provide evidence of assessment data and analysis demonstrating
equivalent academic rigor for online and face-to-face courses. _____- Submit an organized curriculum plan for the Bachelor degree
offerings. Standard 6 - Provide evidence of student-teacher ratios compliant with the standard. Standard 9
- Demonstrate that pertinent students policies are provided before starting coursework. Standard 10
- Demonstrate that data collection and analysis is used for continuous program improvement.
Cypress College, Cypress, CA Probation is the result of non-compliance with
Standard 10.5.2 - graduation rates below 60%. Current accreditation is continued for one (1) year. The probation response must address the reason(s) for sub-standard graduation rates and how
proposed improvements will lead to satisfactory results. Nassau Community College, Garden City, NY The Mortuary Science program is on Probation status for one year
effective April 20, 2023. Probation status required the issues to be addressed in two stages - the first response due September 1, 2023 and the completed response by March 1, 2024. COA
accepted the initial response. The second phase of the program's Probation response is to include completed copies of report templates.
Administrative Probation
Columbus Technical College, Columbus, GA Failure to submit the required improvement plan for NBE examination pass rates at less than 60%.
Other actions taken by the Committee on Accreditation in October 2023 did not affect the accredited status of the programs involved.
The following institutions/programs will be considered for scheduled re-accreditation and related action via a formal review by the Committee on
Accreditation at the next scheduled meeting April 9-10, 2024 in Boston, MA.
Re-accreditation
Mt. Hood Community College, Gresham, OR Fayetteville Technical Community College
, Fayetteville, NC Northwest Tennessee Community College, Southaven, MS Community College of Baltimore County - Catonsville, Catonsville, MD _____(postponed for 1 year)
Distance Education
SUNY - Canton, Canton, NY
The above schedule is subject to change.
____________________________
Public comment regarding the above may be submitted to the ABFSE office prior to March 1, 2024.
Robert C. Smith III Executive Director 992 Mantua Pike, Suite 108 Woodbury Heights,
NJ 08097 Office: (816) 233-3747 Email: exdir@abfse.org
Download the above information
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Past COA Decisions (all documents below are presented in PDF format)
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