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Published
2026-06-18
Section
Campus Notes
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Copyright (c) 2026 Alex Chambers, Dean Heath
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright of all articles published in JCOTR belong to the author(s) and are published under a CC BY-NC license.
How to Cite
The Self-Advocacy Advantage:
Equipping First-Year Students with Essential College Navigation Skills
Alex Chambers
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Dean Heath
University of North Carolina Wilmington
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jcotr.v1i33.6890
Abstract
This article presents a practical framework for teaching all first-year college students self-advocacy skills during orientation programming. Grounded in Schlossberg's Transition Theory and the framework of self-advocacy (Test et al., 2005), the program proposes the universal need for students to navigate college environments effectively. The four-component model, which includes knowledge of self, knowledge of rights, communication, and leadership, provides structured yet flexible programming guidelines that support successful college transitions while building lifelong advocacy skills.
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Author Biographies
Alex Chambers, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Assistant Professor, Special Education, Watson College of Education.
Dean Heath, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Watson College of Education, Enrollment Management Specialist.
