Faculty Rounds
Candice Calhoun-Butts directs the Office of Enrollment and Student Services.
Getting Sound Advice
Advisors help students navigate degree options
Anne Bavier, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, has been awarded the Legion of Honor Gold Medallion from the Philadelphia-based Chapel of Four Chaplains.
The Gold Medallion is the organization’s highest award. It is presented to persons whose life and exceptional leadership epitomizes the spirit of the sacrifice of the chapel’s four U.S. Army chaplains. Distinguished past recipients have included U.S. Presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter.
Students looking for help registering for classes or completing their degree plans can find an office full of friendly faces on the first floor of Pickard Hall, the new home of the Office of Enrollment and Student Services.
Candice Calhoun-Butts directs the team of 35 advisors and support staff who work with current students, prospective students, and alumni looking to further their educations. They serve all students in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, including graduate and undergraduate, online and on-campus, and those in nursing and kinesiology.
“If they need any guidance whatsoever, if they’re curious about degree requirements or how many credits they have already completed will transfer, we will see those students and work with them,” Calhoun-Butts says.
The office also helps process admissions applications, handles referrals, and assists students as they prepare to graduate.
“We see online students mostly by phone and email, some even on Skype,” she adds. “We’re getting more innovative in that way. For traditional students, they are free to come in to visit with an advisor.”
The staff also serves students interested in graduate degree programs. For example, the online Family Nurse Practitioner graduate degree program is seeing growing interest—according to Calhoun-Butts, they’ve received more than 200 applicants per month.
Advisors also work with kinesiology students and alumni, including those interested in pursing a graduate degree, such as the new doctorate in kinesiology, and those utilizing a new program that helps undergraduate majors transition to a BSN degree.
“It’s really about bridging the two fields,” she says. “It’s about improving community health, an important area that’s seeing more growth and research.”
Calhoun-Butts earned a master’s degree in school counseling from Cleveland State University and previously worked with high school students before moving to higher education.
“I honestly feel like this is a calling for me,” Calhoun-Butts says. “Everyone here in the College enjoys seeing students be successful. We love to see them move up and on.”