Be aware of disability rights and policies. It is not up to the college to find their students with disabilities. Students will have to bring documentation (not just the IEP/504) and self-disclose their disability to the disability services office. When touring any institution of higher education, visit the disability services office (they go by many different names) and check the intake procedures and policies. Students should make contact with the disability services office as soon as possible. Be aware that you may not get the same accommodations as in high school and that documentation requirements could be different for each school; however, there is an appeals process that should be accessible by the school's website. Teach your child about their strengths and about their disability and how to describe its impact. Practice with your child how to state their needs and request accommodations and have them speak at their IEP meetings about these things. Time management and organization skills will also be beneficial to your students at the postsecondary level. Finally, understand financial responsibilities and mental health issues that will arise. It may be important also to be aware of what mental health and health services are on campus.

Discuss with parents intake processes, documentation requirements, and rights and responsibilities of students at postsecondary institutions. Make sure to stress the differences between secondary and postsecondary institutions and that parents will not be entitled to receive information about their student without the students' permission and students are not entitled to services. Explain the difference between entitlement and eligibility. This is also a good time to review accommodations with the students and the parents to remove any that are underutilized and to prepare students to be able to talk about the reasonable accommodations they need and why. Practice self-advocacy and self-determination skills with the students to prepare them to make decisions and advocate for themselves. One way to do this is to have student-directed IEP meetings and practice person-centered planning. Additionally, there are many self-determination curricula available, such as I'm Determined, Whose Future is it Anyway, and Choice Maker.

Understand that many students will come to the office with little to no idea about the process. They may not know about how their disability impacts them and may not be aware of what accommodations they need. Be prepared to walk them through how to talk to their professors about what they need to succeed in class. It is important to maintain collaborations inside and outside of campus to be able to fully utilize the different departments and what they can do for students with and without disabilities. Finally, develop and examine post-school outcomes data to determine whether the needs of students are being met and where to focus efforts to continue to grow the strengths of your office.