Funeral Service Education

“Show me the manner in which a nation or community cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender sympathies of its people, their respect for law of the land and their loyalty to high ideals.”  – William Gladstone

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Funeral Service Education CERTICIATE option ONLY Orientation

(FUNERAL DIRECTING ONLY – THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE EMBALMING)

Thank you for your interest in Jefferson State Community College’s Funeral Service Education CERTIFICATE OPTION ONLY. Our Mandatory Orientation for the Spring 2025 semester is scheduled for Thursday, January 2, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. CST SHARP in Harold Martin Building, Classroom 12 (Basement) on the Jefferson Campus (2601 Carson Road, Birmingham, AL 35215 – please check the address on your GPS).  This orientation will start at 9:00 a.m. and end roughly around 2:30 p.m. CST.

You must pre-register for the mandatory orientation by contacting a FSE Advisor at [email protected] or [email protected]

Any student failing to attend the mandatory orientation will not be admitted to the Funeral Service Education CERTIFICATE option during the Spring 2025 semester. 

PLEASE DO NOT TRY TO REGISTER FOR ANY FSE COURSES, THIS IS DONE BY THE FSE PROGRAM FACULTY.

This orientation is for students that have met all requirements for the FSE CERTIFICATE OPTION ONLY. You must have an apprenticeship with a funeral home and complete the program requirements (2 classes for the certificate) to be registered.  This is a separate orientation from the College’s new student orientation.  

Please Note: The mandatory orientation is for Funeral Service Education CERTIFICATE OPTION ONLY students. All the requirements (prerequisites) must be completed to register for any FSE courses.

Please contact Jzyk Ennis ([email protected]) or Venus Smith ([email protected]) for Enrollment!! Registration for the Funeral Service Education CERTIFICATE OPTION ONLY will end at 12:00 p.m. CST Friday, January 3, 2025

Please see the FSE Program’s website for more information regarding the FSE Accreditation Associate Degree Program that includes Embalming. The deadline for the FSE Program was September 15, 2024, no new Degree option students will be admitted. The next enrollment will be Fall 2025, please see the application deadline for May 15, 2025.

Program Brochure

The Funeral Service Education Program is based upon the concept of cooperative education. It is designed for those who have a state board sanctioned apprenticeship and who are actively seeking to satisfy their particular state licensing requirements. Students must complete an apprenticeship specified by the state in which they expect to practice before they will be eligible for licensure.

The Funeral Service Education associate degree program at Jefferson State Community College is accredited by the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE), 992 Mantua Pike, Suite 108, Woodbury Heights, NJ 08097 (816) 233-3747.  www.abfse.org.

Please note: If you have attended JSCC in the past or made an application and did not attend or missed a semester, you will need to submit a NEW application for enrollment. If a student attended the mandatory orientation in the past and plans to restart the FSE Program, they must attend the mandatory orientation again.

The student is given a broad understanding of funeral home operation, funeral directing, public health and embalming along with a foundation in communication skills, social science and applied science. The graduates can complete the National Board Examination given by the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards or the state board examinations given by the Alabama Board of Funeral Service. www.theconferenceonline.org and/or www.fsb.alabama.gov.

Program Changes – Spring 2025 – See Requirement and Deadlines

IMPORTANT NOTE: These changes only apply to students seeking admission to the Spring 2025 semester and beyond.

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National Board Exam Passing Rate

  • National Board Exam Rate
  • National Board Examination pass rates, graduation rates, and employment rates for this and other ABFSE-accredited programs are available at www.abfse.org  in the Directory of Accredited Programs.
  • To request a printed copy of this program’s scores and rates, contact – Venus N.R. Smith, CFSP Funeral Service Education, Jefferson Campus, Harold Martin Building, Room G-9  (205) 856-7841   [email protected]

Funeral Service Education Program Objectives:

Funeral Service Education PageThe Funeral Service Education Program at Jefferson State Community College and American Board of Funeral Service Education’s objectives are to educate students in every phase of funeral service so that this FSE Program graduates are prepared for entry level employment in funeral service. The FSE Program has adopted the following Learning Outcomes and the student will be able to:

  1. Explain the importance of funeral service professionals in developing relationships with the families and communities they serve.
  2. Identify standards of ethical conduct in funeral service practice.
  3. Interpret how federal, state, and local laws apply to funeral service in order to ensure compliance.
  4. Apply principles of public health and safety in the handling and preparation of human remains.
  5. Demonstrate technical skills in embalming and restorative art that are necessary for the preparation and handling of human remains.
  6. Demonstrate skills required for conducting arrangement conferences, visitations, services, and ceremonies.
  7. Describe the requirements and procedures for burial, cremation, and other accepted forms of final disposition of human remains.
  8. Describe methods to address the grief-related needs of the bereaved.
  9. Explain management skills associated with operating a funeral establishment.
  10. Demonstrate verbal and written communication skills and research skills needed for funeral service practice.

 

Funeral Service Education Career Outlook