Since its inception in 2005, the Workforce Achievers Value Education (WAVE) works with a select group of students to build academic and work skills while developing each individual's emotional quotient, enabling him or her to get along successfully in the real world. Through work experience, education, and support services, WAVE students learn a holistic approach to life. Students are accepted based on academic qualification and federal eligibility requirements. They commit to attending CT State Naugatuck Valley full-time while working a limited number of hours for at least one year and meeting daily with program administrators through one-on-one conferences, lunches, and classes.
WAVE is funded by the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board. More than half of the WAVE students who graduate with their associate degrees go on to four-year colleges or universities. Many of these students are offered merit or academic scholarships along with financial aid. WAVE students work on-campus as well as off-campus in the local community.
The Student Support Services (SSS) program is a federally funded TRiO program designed to promote the success and retention of non-traditional students with programs on the CT State Manchester and Norwalk campuses. TRiO programs are educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing intensive academic, personal and career counseling to help program participants reach their goals
These campus-based programs provide services that increase the retention, graduation and transfer rates for non-traditional students. Once students are admitted, they remain participants in the program until they graduate and/or transfer to a four-year college or university, with program advisors assisting participants at every stage of their undergraduate education – from deciding which courses to take in the first semester to preparing for graduation and transfer to a four-year college/university.