MPI Imports CMM Certification

<B> MPI Imports CMM Certification</B>

By Lauren Bielski

Meeting Professionals International is taking steps, in response to a clear demand for advanced professional certification in North America, to adopt a modified version of the certified meeting management program begun in Europe in 1993.

A North American version of the program was announced at the Professional Educational Conference in Baltimore in August. Even while some MPI members continue to question what they see as a confusing addition to an ever-growing array of professional education programming for meeting planners, sponsors already are lining up.

Much legwork still remains before the first exam can be administered in 1998, but the groundwork has been laid. The Canadian Tourism Commission, MPI and the MPI Foundation will sponsor the five-day, residential educational experience, contributing about $530,000 in total funds over the next three years. American Airlines has pledged 50 percent discounts for test takers.

Doug Fyfe, president of the Canadian Tourism Commission, expressed his enthusiasm for going forward with a truly global CMM. "The more professional we all become, the better served our customers will be," he said.

With intentions of getting the CMM program on track by the end of 1998, MPI has corresponded with more than 40 universities to attract an educational partner to condense the three-week European curriculum and redirect its content for a North American audience, said Robert Eilers, newly named executive director of the MPI Foundation (see story, page 28). Committee members already have met with Cornell University, whose Parisian affiliate administers the European course, and the University of Michigan, as well as five other top-rated institutions.

The chosen university will be responsible for instruction, test monitoring and grading of material. Unlike the certified meeting professional designation, which is based on a multiple choice test that can be administered by a testing service, the CMM is subjective and project-oriented, and will need university administrators to fly.

"The CMM will touch on topics such as adult learning, negotiation, marketing, technology, quality management, risk management, international programming and protocol," Eilers said. The program has sparked significant interest in academia, and was lauded by schools for its comprehensive scope and "experiential" approach to drilling planners on the material. The association is even considering development of a customized text-book for the material, in addition to a selection of pre-existing collateral material.

Although the European and American versions of the program will differ, the idea is to synchronize the test so that it is uniform in addressing key subjects.

MPI is forging ahead with a "global version" of the European program in light of strong member interest in its adoption, said CEO Ed Griffin. "More than 80 of 425 planners we addressed in a Gallop poll expressed a strong interest in gaining CMM certification in addition to their CMP certification," he said.

While Griffin acknowledged that there is no hard proof of the value of the CMM, MPI's Gallop poll and other survey data support the idea that employers, as well as planners themselves, respect the notion.

"In January, MPI's Foundation will publish the findings from our first Gap Survey (see story page 2), which looks at the corporate meeting from the perspective of the attendee, senior management and planner to analyze the different perspectives of the meeting," he said. "Included in those findings are senior management's take on getting certified, as well as what managers value in a planning team."

Although Griffin declined comment on survey specifics, he said MPI is working from the assumption that certification can only elevate the perception of the profession to outsiders. "The CMM will be a way to catalogue the mastery of the less obvious negotiating and analytical skills required for successful event planning to non-planners. Just by discussing what they had to do to get an A on the test, planners can sell themselves in a new way."

Brent Moore, a former government planner who now works as an independent planner in Quebec, said the European CMM gave him a four-star opportunity to validate the excellent training he'd received and viewed the adoption of a North American version as a positive step toward the globalization of the program.

"I'm very fortunate that I got extensive training on program design, adult education and marketing. This program is proof of my proficiency," he said.

Moore, who previously had obtained the CMP and is a CMP study leader, said that bringing the CMM to North America is an excellent way to offer planners a continuing education on a customized basis. To that end, MPI director of education Judy Smith and the International Education Committee are reconfiguring everything from self-assessment forms to text books. Smith said that bringing certification to North America is no small order, but that the program will eventually offer a core universal curriculum and regionalized versions.

"In the U.S., for example, one critical focus of meetings regulation is the Americans With Disability Act, which other countries don't have to deal with in the same way and with which they are likely unfamiliar," Moore said. "In Europe, planners have to contend with VAT taxes, and liability is an entirely different subject. Also the issue of multiple languages is definitely a key aspect of the European program that might not be as important for the North American version."

While many will not feel the need to receive two certifications, Moore said the CMM is more like a master's degree and is simply different from, rather than conflicting with, the CMP degree offered by the Convention Liaison Council.