The road to a better job for aspiring Macomb County marketing majors has been opened wider, thanks to a partnership between the Wayne State University School of Business Administration, Macomb Community College and the Chippewa Valley Schools. The three institutions have joined forces to create an agreement that will enable students to proceed smoothly from business and marketing courses in Chippewa Valley high schools to Macomb Community College to Wayne State -- provided they satisfy the requirements along the way.

The agreement will be signed in a special ceremony at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, at Dakota High School, 21051 21 Mile Road in Macomb Township.

The newly created "2 plus 2 plus 2" program goes a step beyond most such agreements, which typically involve community colleges and universities. MCC and WSU officials say the program is among the first in the country reaching all the way to high school.

Students first must earn an endorsed high school diploma from Chippewa Valley Schools and follow the pre-marketing curriculum. They then must receive an associate degree from MCC while following its pre-business program before being accepted at Wayne State as a marketing major.

"Educational partnerships like this work," says James Jacobs, associate vice president for community and employer services at Macomb Community College. "They support students by offering a vision of the future and direct a way of reaching their goals."

"What we've set up is a really a path for students to follow through high school, community college and Wayne State," says Linda Zaddach, assistant dean of student affairs for WSU's business school. "At the end of all this, they should end up with a good job."

The marketing major was chosen for this pilot program agreement because WSU and MCC already have a joint undergraduate program. If successful, the new program eventually could be made available to nearly 30 Macomb County high schools.

"From here, we hope to include other majors and hope to work with other high schools and community colleges," Zaddach says.