DALLAS -- Meeting Professionals International, based here, and
Michigan State University unveiled the curriculum for the
Certification in Meeting Management, the first university-endorsed
global professional designation for senior meeting professionals.
The curriculum, which comes just four months after the
partnership was announced at MPI's Professional Education
Conference in Orlando, Fla., was developed by the faculty at the
School of Hospitality/Business of MSU and MPI, according to Edwin
Griffin, executive vice president and chief executive officer for
MPI.
It will be available beginning in September.
Open to all meetings professionals, the CMM consists of a
self-assessment exam to determine program eligibility, home study,
a five-day residential course and a three-part examination, Griffin
said.
The program, according to Griffin "will provide a new strategic
level for meeting management."
The academic framework was finalized in collaboration with the
Institute de Management HÖtelier International, Paris, a European
extension of Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
The cost of the five-day program is $995 for MPI members, $1,195
for nonmembers. The exam fee is $275 for MPI members and $350 for
nonmembers. The self-assessment fee is $25 for MPI members and $50
for nonmembers.
Griffin said an informational session will be offered at MPI's
1998 World Education Congress in San Diego. The session, featuring
CMM faculty members, is designed to create greater awareness of the
certification program.
More than 2,600 suppliers and planners are scheduled to attend
the WEC, and some 50 additional workshops are slated for the
show.
MPI is offering a pre-congress seminar on how to create a
meeting registration database and software, Griffin said.
One program being offered, titled Understanding Meetings in the
New Business World of the 21st Century, focuses on industry issues
for the new millennium, according to Bob Moore, the newly elected
president of MPI.
"Educational programs like these offer meeting professionals an
opportunity for an in-depth look at measuring return on investment
and offer a strategic look into the next decade for the meeting and
convention industry," Moore said. "MPI's goal continues to be
preparing its members for the future."
In addition, the technology track and lab have been expanded in
an effort to enable more planners to participate, Moore said. The
Meeting Place '98 trade show will host more than 400
exhibitors.
MPI
Phone: (972) 702-3051
Web: www.mpiweb.org