Arapahoe Community College is only school in Colorado to offer degree in mortuary science

As Colorado state lawmakers took another step this week to increase regulations in the state's funeral industry, a local college is educating students and preparing the future workforce of the industry.

Arapahoe Community College is the only school in Colorado that offers a degree in mortuary science, and it's a very competitive program to get into. The program itself has been in place since the 90s.

Faith Haug, the program chair, said more than 200 people have applied for the upcoming fall semester, but only 50 students will be accepted.

"By remaining selective, we are doing our diligence and our duty to the industry to provide them with well-trained professionals," said Haug.

It's a comprehensive program; from learning how to talk to family members and safely transferring a body, to learning the laws of the industry, funeral directing, accounting, religion and how to restore body arts, also known as restorative art.

"They learn a lot about a lot of different things, and the reason for that is that the job of being a funeral director encompasses so many different skill sets," said Haug.

The program is offered in person and online, therefore many of the students also live out-of-state and take the courses. That includes Logan Stiver, who currently lives in Utah and takes courses online, but he is required to attend a few in-person classes. Stiver already works as an assistant at a funeral home.

"One of the funeral directors there mentioned that I was really compassionate with the families we're helping," said Stiver.

Now he's pursuing this industry as a career. Once he graduates from Arapahoe Community College with his associate's degree, he'll have his license to operate a funeral home.

"Being able to use a program like this to learn more in-depth about what it is, what the proper techniques are, or how to present yourself, really helps to prepare students more for the real world of funeral directing," said Stiver, who added the skills he's learned in class, have benefitted him while working at the funeral home.

But in addition to what he's learned in the classroom, he and his classmates have also discussed current events and how they impact the industry as a whole.

The discussions come have come after nearly 200 bodies were found at a funeral home in Southern Colorado last year, and Miles Harford, a former funeral director in Denver is now facing several charges including abuse of a corpse. It's led to Colorado facing controversy over being the only state in the country that doesn't regulate funeral home directors. Conversations in the classroom have also been centered around the Colorado bill to regulate mortuary science jobs.

"With this opportunity to have them more regulated, it's definitely going to cause things to be a bit more selective, I believe, in who will be able to be in this position and have this occupation," said Stiver.

Conversations like it have given students like Stiver more motivation and purpose of why they're in the program.

"This is where I'm supposed to be at kind of with my job and in life," said Stiver.

Meanwhile, Haug added the funeral industry in Colorado, she admits, has faced its own sets of challenges recently.

"We do things very differently from state to state, so there is not a lot of uniformity in regulation, licensing or even business practices. So, that leads to difficulties," said Haug. "We kind of talked about what went wrong, how that might have happened, how that may be prevented."

The bi-partisan bill was heard in committee on Tuesday afternoon, after it was introduced in early March, requiring funeral home directors and jobs related to mortuary science to obtain a license.

The bill would require: funeral home directors, morticians, cremationists, and embalmers to have a mortuary science degree; complete a one-year apprenticeship; and pass a criminal background check.

Haug said the funeral industry is small, and there are only 58 accredited mortuary schools in the country. With Arapahoe Community College being the only one in Colorado, she also said it's uncertain if the program will change its teachings or application process and requirements, based on what the final legislation could look like at the state capitol.