The Dean of Students reports to the Vice President for Student Engagement, and oversees the departments of Student Life (Campus Recreation, Residential Life and Housing, Student Activities and Leadership, Wellness Center/Health Services and Counseling Services), and the Saints Success Center ( Advising and Support Services, Accessibility Services, Career Services, Global Learning, Health Professions Advising, Testing Services, and Veteran Services). In matters of student conduct, the Dean of Students serves as the final authority in adjudicating student conduct cases and handling all appeals based on the criteria established in the Carroll Code of Student Conduct. The Dean of Students also serves as one of the college's Title IX Coordinators.
The Dean of Students represents the needs of the departments of Student Life and the Saints Success Center in the college’s strategic planning, budgeting, and development of services for students. These services include enhancement of out-of-classroom experiences and the opportunity for high impact experiences. The position works closely with the college president, the senior administration of the college, and the student president of the Associated Students of Carroll College (ASCC) to support the needs of students.
Student Life Departments
The departments in Student Life include Campus Recreation and the Hunthausen Activity Center, Residential Life and Housing, Student Activities and Leadership, and the Wellness Center/ Health and Counseling.
Campus Recreation and Hunthausen Activity Center
Campus Recreation and the Hunthausen Activity Center (HAC) provides students with the opportunity to engage in recreation, fitness, intramurals and outdoor programming. The facility consists of a climbing tower, bouldering wall, outdoor recreation center, multi-purpose exercise rooms, gymnasium, cardiovascular equipment and weight equipment. The purpose of the center is to promote the health and wellness of Carroll College students and employees.
Hunthausen Activity Center is managed by the Director of Campus Recreation who provides leadership opportunities for student employees to supervise facilities and programming. Building managers, desk workers, fitness instructors, intramural officials and Carroll Adventures and Mountaineering Program (CAMP) leaders will gain valuable employment experience in the operation of the Hunthausen Activity Center. Students will benefit from educational programming on outdoor recreation which will be supplemented by CAMP hiking, backpacking, and camping trips.
Carroll employees, spouses and retired employees have the opportunity to use the Hunthausen Activity Center. The intent is to promote the sense of community between Carroll College students, staff and faculty through the use of a common recreation and fitness facility.
The rules, policies and procedures for the building can be found on the Hunthausen Activity Center web page. It is expected that all who use the building are familiar with the policies and procedures outlined at https://www.carroll.edu/hunthausen-activity-center/policies-procedures.
Counseling Services
Counseling Services assist students by promoting their emotional, social, and behavioral growth in order to help them achieve their academic and personal goals. Individual counseling and workshops are utilized to address issues such as anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, peer pressures, and life decisions. Students learn how to develop action plans to address developmental issues or personal goals. Services are free and confidential.
Counseling services can be a helpful resource to college students who may be facing issues involving transitions in their life including starting college, living away from home, exploring personal relationships or struggling with value clarification. It is important for students and their families to understand that the counseling offered at Carroll College is short-term and cannot replace or substitute as a service for long-term counseling, psychiatric services or the treatment of mental health issues with medication. Referrals to mental health care professionals in the Helena community can be provided. As with all referrals to health care professionals, billing for services are handled by the health care professional with insurance providers.
Health Services
Health Services staff assist students in providing direct services to support their health and wellness, and in educating students on personal health care. Students learn about their health from a registered nurse on staff full-time, and from the nurse practitioner who has weekly clinic hours at the Health Center. Immunizations, flu shots, consultations or referrals, simple laboratory procedures and regular clinic hours for non-emergency care are provided through the Carroll College Health Center. All records are confidential unless a waiver form is signed by the student to release information to others. Health services also include the loan of crutches, vaporizers and ice bags, etc.
Fees for supplies, labs and procedures are nominal. Payment or billing arrangements are required at the time of service for all immunizations and services. The Health Center does not submit to insurance for payment, however students/parents can submit for reimbursement from their insurance companies.
Each student is required to have a completed health form and validated immunization record on file in the Health Center. Students are strongly encouraged to receive the required immunizations prior to coming to Carroll. However, staff can administer needed immunizations if necessary.
Residential Life and Housing
Residential Life and Housing staff assists students in learning how to live in community on a residential campus. The friendships and life experiences developed by living on campus provide students with many unexpected benefits that positively impact the academic, occupational, recreational, spiritual, mental and emotional maturity of students. Students learn by daily practice how to develop healthy eating, sleeping, study and social habits. For these reasons, students are required to live in college housing for three years (six semesters)* and are encouraged to live all four years in college housing.
To promote a positive living and learning environment, Residential Life and Housing is responsible for educational programming, group activity advising, leadership development, student conduct, peer counseling, housing administration and resource referral. A Resident Assistant (RA), a student paraprofessional trained to address the needs of students, lives on each residence hall floor. In each area, one RA also serves as a Senior Resident Assistant (SRA). The Senior Resident Assistant serves alongside the professional staff in the Senior Staff On Call rotation and provides additional administrative support for the area. An Area Coordinator is a professional staff member, trained in hall administration, community development and staff supervision. The Area Coordinators oversee and support the residence halls and the campus apartments. Area Coordinators are supervised by the the Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life and Housing.
* Please Note: When the 2023-2024 Handbook was published in Fall 2023 this section referred to the former two-year live on requirement. We apologize for the confusion, but the 3-year live on requirement for housing is noted accurately in the Room and Board Requirements and Rates of the Catalog, the Housing Policies and Housing and Meals sections of the Student Handbook, on the Student Life/Housing and Dining webpage and in the Housing and Meal Plan Exception Form.
Student Activities and Leadership
Student Activities and Leadership staff offer students a wide range of programs and activities that reflect the social, cultural, intellectual, recreational and self-governance needs of students within the context of the mission and vision statement of Carroll College. Carroll provides a full range of opportunities through organizations, student government, clubs, and volunteer programs. Through participating in these activities students learn valuable social and leadership skills which will positively impact their lives now and into the future.
With over forty recognized campus programs and organizations, Carroll College offers students a wide range of interest groups to explore. Examples include: The Prospector, the campus newspaper; Colors, the college literary magazine; and the Associated Students of Carroll College (ASCC), Carroll’s student government.
Other opportunities for students to have fun, get involved, and strengthen leadership skills include but are not limited to, academic clubs, special interest groups, campus programming, concerts, entertainers, speakers, dances, Homecoming, and coffeehouse nights. All these events provide students with an opportunity to engage in activities outside of the classroom.
Saints Success Center
Carroll offers a wide range of academic support services so students can achieve their full academic potential. Many academic services are located in 1st East Borromeo Hall in the Saints Success Center which includes the offices of Academic Advising, Academic Support, Accessibility Services, Career Services, Global Learning, Health Professions Advising, Nationally-Competitive Scholarships, Testing, and Veterans Services.
Academic Advising and Support
The Academic Support & Advising (ASA) Office supports the intentional and collaborative partnership between advisors and students, the focus of which is to help students create and realize their long-term educational, professional, and personal goals, and develop critical skills that will support a lifetime of learning. In addition to academic advising information, support, training and resources, the ASA Office also provides a variety of services offered at no additional charge to all Carroll students, including academic counseling, academic resource plan development, study skills workshops, and College Success classes. Through direct services, communication, and referrals, ASA helps students build strong working relationships with faculty, as well as with staff in other student-service and administrative offices.
First Year Cohort (FYC) courses serve as a critical component to achieving our goals in academic advising. Every first-year student takes an FYC designated course in their first semester at Carroll. The professor of each FYC course serves as the academic advisor for the enrolled students. This teacher/student relationship serves as the backbone of the advisor/advisee relationship. First-year students transition to department advisors during the Spring semester before pre-registration for the upcoming Fall semester. All students are encouraged to consult with their advisors at least twice each academic semester. Students should meet with their advisors any time they have questions about their academic performance or progress. The advisor will help students develop an academic program and direct them to other college resources whenever appropriate.
Accessibility Services
The purpose of the Accessibility Services office is to create equal access for students with disabilities to the full college experience in and out of the classroom. In order to ensure that students with disabilities can experience and enjoy equal access throughout their college career, faculty, staff, and administrators are provided with guidance and training regarding their specific roles.
The Director of Accessibility Services arranges for services for students who, due to disability, face an extraordinary challenge to their learning processes or otherwise to their ability to enjoy the full college experience. An appropriately accommodated student will face the same academic standards as any other student and will otherwise be treated as any other student is treated.
More information about the accessibility services offered at Carroll can be found online at https://www.carroll.edu/about/policies-procedures/accessibility.
The college's policy on Accessibility for Students with Disabilities is found in the Student Handbook.
Career Services
Career Services staff assists students in developing, evaluating and implementing career and life planning. These services support a process of self-assessment to clarify personal and career-related goals, values, and interests. Students learn how to obtain occupational information, to explore the full range of employment opportunities or graduate study, and to present themselves effectively as candidates for employment. Our mission is to empower students to follow passion, realize potential, and pursue lives of purpose.
Career development programs are offered in group sessions using career assessment instruments in workshops and in-class presentations. Freshmen and sophomore students unclear about their plans can take a one-credit career decision-making course to assist them in creating an effective career plan. Experiential education, through internships and shadowing, are important components of one’s education, and students are encouraged to incorporate these experiences into their educational plans.
Juniors and seniors can take a one-credit job search preparation course to prepare for entering the job market. Career Services also offers a Career Resource Library which contains a collection of online materials, including occupational and job market information, internship information, and graduate school resources. Career Services maintains an extensive web page that covers all aspects of career development and job search.
Career Services staff assists students in preparing for and locating appropriate internships and experiential education connected to their academic majors and to develop learning objectives consistent with their career goals. Students can take advantage of opportunities in Helena, throughout Montana, across the U.S., as well as internationally.
Credential services are offered through Interfolio to Education seniors and alumni to assist in processing employment applications.
Career Services sponsors a variety of on-campus workshops, special events, a career and graduate school fair, and individual appointments throughout the year to help promote students’ career development and job readiness.
Global Learning and International Student Support
Our Global Learning Office provides over 150 exchange programs that allow students to study abroad for a semester or a year in exchange for an international student coming to our campus. Carroll College also offers semester and summer study abroad experiences as well as faculty-led travel seminars to various destinations each year. This wide variety of options makes study abroad possible within four years for all students, regardless of major. We also encourage students to consider other types of high-impact, international experiences outside the classroom, including service learning, undergraduate research and internships.
Veteran Services
Carroll College is dedicated to providing its veteran student population with the highest quality education, and the assistance and guidance necessary to promote the veteran student’s growth, independence, self-worth and potential, in an effort to secure the veteran students’ future through education. Additionally, the Office of Veteran Services is available to assist all students using VA educational benefits with academic advising and planning, registration questions, class concerns, transition issues, and benefit questions. The Office of Veteran Services works closely with the Director of Accessibility Services, to ensure that students with documented disabilities receive appropriate accommodations.