NWACC to host expanded funeral science program
by October 16, 2012 6:50 pm 222 views
BENTONVILLE—Two institutions of higher education are joining forces to offer more students access to a funeral science program.
Arkansas State University-Mountain Home will expand its funeral science program to the Northwest Arkansas Community College’s Bentonville campus, according to a press release from NWACC Tuesday (Oct. 16).
Dr. Ted Phillips, Vice President for Learning at NWACC, said the college is pleased to be a part of the initiative.
“This partnership will enable ASU-Mountain Home and NWACC to work together to provide our students with the education and expertise they need to be successful in this career field,” he said.
ASU-Mountain Home’s Associate of Applied Science in Funeral Science is a 60-credit hour program that offers theoretical and practical application of funeral service education. Students are prepared for entry into the profession after graduation and the National Board Examination must be completed prior to graduation.
ASU-Mountain Home’s funeral science program is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education. This board serves as the national academic accreditation agency for college and university programs in funeral service and mortuary science education and is the sole accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation in this field.
Through the partnership, the two campuses will combine their course offerings for students to complete the degree. Students may complete 32 credit hours offered from NWACC, with ASU-Mountain Home providing the remaining 28 credit hours through interactive distance delivery equipment.
In addition to combining the course offerings required for the funeral science degree, the two higher education institutions are pooling their grant funds made available from the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act to purchase the distance delivery equipment. Dr. Bailey noted,
“While the Perkins Act allows for the pooling of funding between higher education institutions for an activity, officials with the Arkansas Department of Higher Education advise this is believed to be a first for the state of Arkansas.”
For more information, visit the Mountain Home campus’ website.