Patti Shock is a pioneer: She put together the first college-level meetings curriculum in the 1970s at Georgia State University. In 1988, she was recruited to do the same thing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she built the premier program in the country for meetings and events education.

Then, this past March, UNLV was forced to eliminate the meetings major because of budget cuts, a move that left many wondering what would become of meetings programs at other schools. However, it’s clear that interest in the field is higher than ever and that new competency standards coming out this summer, compiled by academic and meetings industry professionals, will elevate meeting planning education even more.

The cuts at UNLV were not for lack of interest in the program. In fact, it’s just the opposite, explained Shock. “We’re the fastest-growing major in the university,” she said, with more than 300 students in the meetings and events major. “I don’t think our discipline is being targeted as much as they are looking anywhere they can to save money.” College officials were forced to cut back on many programs within hotel/hospitality management, including gaming. All students currently in the program will finish, but new students will have to pursue a degree in hospitality management with a concentration in meetings and events. Shock had to fight for the formal concentration, which essentially means it goes on the transcript. Initially, it was cut back to an informal concentration.

Click here for a PDF chart of top meeting colleges in the U.S., including course offerings.

While the change at UNLV was a setback for the industry, the good news is that meeting programs are growing rapidly in the U.S., with more than 200 colleges offering courses in meeting planning, more than ever before. In many places it is the fastest-growing area of study.

This has surprised administrators who think “all you ever need to know about meetings can be taught in 14 weeks,” said Tyra Hilliard, PhD, CMP, associate professor, restaurant, hotel, and meeting management at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

With 1,100 students enrolled in the event management major and 17 events-related courses, the University of Central Florida, Orlando, is the largest meetings and events school in the U.S. and one of the few with a meetings major. “Once you have some success stories like ours, other schools will say, ‘Look at how they were able to grow their enrollments,” said Deborah Breiter, PhD, professor and chairwoman, Department of Tourism, Events, and Attractions at UCF’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management.

Meetings programs are also growing at community colleges, said Amanda Cecil, PhD, CMP, assistant professor at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, who has tracked all the meetings courses in the U.S. Madison (Wis.) Area Technical College, for example, offers an associate’s degree in meeting and event management and about a dozen courses, said Janet Sperstad, CMP, program director, meeting and event management at MATC.

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