Arapahoe Community College is a well-known public community college located in Littleton, Colorado that offers a mortuary science program in-person, online and via a hybrid model.

From 2019 to 2021, their program has grown to over 100 enrollees, an impressive average graduation rate of 87%, and an average funeral service employment rate of 79%. The NBE pass rate for sciences in 2021 was 8 percentage points higher than the national average, at 65%.

Despite the difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic created, it’s clear that the program is in great hands with Faith Haug, the current Program Chair.

Learn about Haug’s legacy, and how she and the ACC Mortuary Science Program have integrated Gather into their curriculum to help students get an in-depth look into the daily operations of a funeral home, and how they can provide a better experience for families.

Faith Haug and Arapahoe Community College

Faith Haug has been in deathcare for 20 years – after starting her work in cemeteries and deciding that she loved it, she then attended mortuary school at Worsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago.

Since then, she’s been a licensed funeral director and embalmer, working in Illinois, New Mexico, and Colorado. Over the years, she has gained experience in almost every aspect of funeral service and operations. In addition to her mortuary science degree, she has a BS in Health Services, an MBA, and she is on track to finish her Doctorate in 2025.

Due to her continual commitment to her students and her community, Haug was also recently recognized as an NFDA Emerging Leader for 2022-2023.

The Mortuary Science program at ACC was developed by Martha Thayer, and was one of the very first programs to begin offering online courses in the late 1990’s. They have had a robust in-person and online program ever since.

The Future of Deathcare is Bright if We Commit

In Haug’s eyes, the deathcare and funeral industry is a double-edged sword. She emphasizes that the profession needs to embrace change, influence trends, and be true leaders and experts in the field.

New Generations of Students Bring Exciting, Positive Change 

Her students are what drive her every day, and she hopes to deliver the very best education and mentorship that she can possibly provide.

While she is excited for her students to graduate and move into the real world of deathcare, Haug also notes that the hardest part for her is releasing them to the profession after graduation and hoping that their passion doesn’t get snuffed out.

People Are at The Heart of Funeral Service and Deathcare

According to Haug, funeral service is its own worst enemy. She notes that it’s important for funeral directors and deathcare professionals to shift their mindset and remember that the profession is a service profession at its core.

In one form or another, deathcare will be needed until humans become extinct. We need to course correct and find opportunities to serve our communities in the ways that are most meaningful to them now.

How Gather Has Helped the Arapahoe Community College’s Mortuary Science Program Evolve

With Haug’s emphasis on change, she incorporated Gather’s funeral home management platform into the curriculum that she teaches her students. It gives her classes a real-world look into how they can improve funeral service, manage every case from start to finish, and create a better experience for families who are grieving and need guidance.

Gather Preps Students for the Business and People Management Aspects of Deathcare

In reference to Gather, Haug notes that it truly helps mortuary science students get more in touch with the business and people management side of funeral service and deathcare.

• The Ins and Outs of Arrangements: “Gather helps show my students all the things they may need to cover in an arrangement, and why.”
  
• Early Experience With Funeral Service Software: “It [Gather] also familiarizes them with using funeral service software and makes them more well-rounded job applicants.”
• The Memorial Pages Transform Family Experiences: “I particularly like the ability to build memorial pages. The students enjoy this activity and the experience of doing it expands their knowledge base.”

Gather Prepares Mortuary Science Students for the Real World

Haug regularly asks her students for feedback when it comes to the Arapahoe Community College Mortuary Science program curriculum. When it comes to Gather, her students love it.

• Gather is Intuitive and Easy to Learn: “The students like how intuitive it is, the ease of use, and the ability to embed many different things into the websites.”
• Gather Builds Relevant Job Skills: “The students love using it [Gather] and it builds relevant job skills.”
  

Kickstart The Next Generation of Deathcare With Gather

Needless to say, Faith Haug and the Arapahoe Community College Mortuary Science program are dedicated to preserving the future of deathcare. They’re paying attention to change family needs, the core of the industry, they’re listening to the new ideas that students and all generations of deathcare professionals bring forward.

And they’re partnering with Gather to elevate funeral arrangements and create a better experience for every family they serve.

Schedule a demo with our team and learn how you can get started and leverage Gather today.