The family and consumer sciences undergraduate degree (FCS) at Bridgewater College is the newest program to meet the criteria for the Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) credential.

Gaining the NCFR acknowledgement means that Bridgewater College students who complete the FCS human development and family studies track are eligible to sit for the CFLE examination. Becoming a CFLE can provide assurance to potential employers that a Family Life Educator has a high level of proficiency in the 10 Family Life Education content areas identified in the CFLE credentialing examination.

“Endorsement of our FCS program by NCFR provides a peer-reviewed approval to a program that has been extraordinarily strong for years,” said Barbara H. Long, Ed.D., division head for professional studies at Bridgewater College.

Long added that careers for Family Life Educators are growing in both the United States and Canada and that Bridgewater College students "will be postured to take those jobs and make an immediate impact for their clients and employers.”

In July, NCFR reported that seven programs were recently renewed as a CFLE-approved program for the next five years.

More than 130 degree programs at university and colleges throughout the United States and Canada have been CFLE-approved by NCFR.

NCFR, which administers the CFLE credential, recognizes regionally accredited schools offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs with course work that includes content covering the 10 Family Life Education content areas required for approval as a provisional CFLE. NCFR approval allows graduates of these programs the opportunity to apply for provisional CFLE certification without taking the CFLE exam.

Interested in getting your program approved? Learn more about CFLE Academic Program Approval.