Current Convention Course Offerings at the Top 25 Ranked Hospitality Management Undergraduate Programs: An Analysis of Objectives, Instructional Delivery, and Assessment Methods

Figures & data

TABLE 1 Learning Levels of Bloom's Taxonomy

Learning level	Description
Knowledge	Recollection of basic facts and concepts.
Comprehension	Demonstration of facts by organizing, interpreting, and comparing ideas.
Application	Applying learned information to new situations.
Analysis	Determination of cause and effect, making inferences and identifying evidence to support generalizations.
Synthesis	Compiling information to propose new solutions.
Evaluation	Make judgments and defend opinions.

TABLE 2 Teaching Methods in MICE Education

Instructional technique	Description
Lecture	In most cases, the instructor delivers substance to students by presenting various topics through speech and visual cues, with minimal input from the audience members.
Problem-based learning (PBL)	PBL involves placing students in teams and then providing them with realistic scenarios that they must analyze and subsequently develop recommendations regarding course of action (Prideaux, Gannon, Farmer, Runciman, & Rolfe, 2001). Examples include developing plans to open new hotel properties, designing foodservice outlets, and evaluating hypothetical lawsuits (Lee, 2003).
Case study	Case studies may utilize theoretical examples or recount actual events in real businesses. These are considered particularly valuable for students because they provide real-life business “problems” to which students may apply relevant concepts.
Experiential exercise	Experiential learning techniques provide students the opportunity to gain work experience through on-campus restaurants or hotels. Off-campus experiential exercises may include field trips (Xie, 2004), internships, or part-time or volunteer work (Holmes, 2006) .
Guest speaker	Guest speakers may be asked to attend classes to talk to students. These visitors may be industry professionals, experts, or other academics invited for the purpose of providing students with a more diverse perspective of the industry.

TABLE 3 Hospitality Programs Evaluated in This Study

Rank	University/College	Program web site	MICE courses
1	Purdue University	http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/htm/	No
2	California Polytechnic University, Pomona	http://www.csupomona.edu/~cshm/collins_school/index.shtml	No
3	University of Houston	http://www.hrm.uh.edu/	Yes
4 (tie)	Pennsylvania State University	http://www.hhdev.psu.edu/shm/	Yes
4 (tie)	Michigan State University	http://www.bus.msu.edu/shb/	Yes
5	University of Nevada–Las Vegas	http://hotel.unlv.edu/	Yes
6	Florida International University	http://hospitality.fiu.edu/	Yes
7 (tie)	University of Massachusetts–Amherst	http://www.isenberg.umass.edu/htm/	Yes
7 (tie)	University of Delaware	http://www.hrim.udel.edu/	Yes
8	Oklahoma State University	http://ches.okstate.edu/hrad/	Yes
9	University of South Carolina	http://www.hrsm.sc.edu/HRTM/	Yes
10	Florida State University	http://www.cob.fsu.edu/dsh/	No
11	Washington State University	http://www.business.wsu.edu/Hospitality/Pages/index.aspx	Yes
12	Robert Morris University	http://sentry.rmu.edu/OnTheMove/findoutmore.open_page?iCalledBy=findoutmore&iPage=70005&ivisitor=0	No
13	Georgia State University	http://robinson.gsu.edu/hospitality/index.htm	Yes
14	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	http://www.htm.pamplin.vt.edu/	Yes
15	Texas Tech University	http://www.hs.ttu.edu/nhr/rhim/	Yes
16 (tie)	Kansas State University	http://www.humec.k-state.edu/hrimd/	Yes
16 (tie)	Widener University	http://www.widener.edu/sohm/	Yes
17	Niagara University	http://www.niagara.edu/hospitality/	Yes
18	Boston University	http://www.bu.edu/hospitality/about/index.html	Yes
19	University of Denver	http://daniels.du.edu/hrtm/	No
20	Northern Arizona University	http://home.nau.edu/hrm/	No
21	New Mexico State University	http://spectre.nmsu.edu/dept/welcome.html?t=hrt2	Yes
22	Colorado State University	http://www.fshn.cahs.colostate.edu/programs1.asp	No
23	Metropolitan State College of Denver	http://www.mscd.edu/~hmt/	Yes
24 (tie)	University of Central Florida	http://www.hospitality.ucf.edu/	Yes
24 (tie)	Iowa State University	http://www.aeshm.hs.iastate.edu/hrim/	No
25	Johnson & Wales University	http://www.jwu.edu/hosp/index.htm	Yes

TABLE 4 Categorization and Frequency of MICE Courses

Titles	Frequency
Group 1: General MICE Industry courses
Meeting, Convention, and Event Management	3
Conventions and Event Management	2
Conventions and Expositions	1
Group 2: Convention and Meeting courses
Convention and Meeting Management	5
Meeting Planning	3
Advanced Meeting Management	1
Group 3: Event Management courses
Event Administration	3
Festival and Event Management	1
Special Event Management	2
Event Promotion	1
Group 4: Catering/Banquet courses
Catering and Banquet Management	2
Group 5: Tradeshow courses
Exhibit and Tradeshow Operations	2
Group 6: Sales courses
Hotel and Convention Group Sales	2

TABLE 5 Major Learning Objectives in MICE Courses

Objectives
Conduct an analysis for site selection.
Create a Request for Proposal (RFP).
Develop an Event Specification Guide (i.e., Group Résumé).
Draft room sets appropriate to a variety of program requirements.
Analyze the needs of sponsoring organizations and attendees through the use of strategic planning.
Set reliable budget goals and plan a budget for a specified event.
Explain the economic, sociocultural, and environmental impacts of the MICE segment as part of the hospitality industry.
Identify trends that may impact the MICE industry.
Design and implement a comprehensive event plan.

TABLE 6 Main Topics of Instruction in MICE Courses

Course topic	Percentage	N = 20
Introduction to MICE	100	20
Food and Beverage	70	14
Program Design	65	13
Exhibitions/Tradeshow Management	60	12
Function Space Setup	60	12
Site Selection	60	12
Legal Issues	55	11
Marketing Plans	55	11
Contracts & Negotiations	45	9
Housing	45	9
International Meetings	45	9
Registration	45	9
Service Contractors	45	9
Special Events	35	7
Audio Visual	30	6
Risk and Crisis Management	30	6
Sales/RFPs	30	6
Transportation	30	6
Convention & Visitors Bureaus	25	5
Speakers/Entertainment	25	5
Sponsorship	25	5
Advertising	20	4
Budgeting and Finance	20	4
Destination Management	20	4
Ethics	20	4
Human Resources	20	4
Meeting Technology	20	4
Revenue Management	20	4
Components of an Event	15	3
Creating the Environment	15	3
Future Industry Trends	15	3
Meeting Objectives	15	3
Strategic Planning	15	3
Wedding Planning	15	3
Career Opportunities	10	2
Creative Development	10	2
Americans with Disabilities Act	10	2
Incentive Travel and Events	10	2
Return on Investment	10	2
Alternative Venues	5	1
Business Plans	5	1
Convention Centers	5	1
Green Meetings	5	1
Lighting	5	1
Socially Responsible Meetings	5	1

TABLE 7 Kruskal-Wallis Results

	General MICE industry	Convention & meetings	Event Mgmt.	Catering/ banquets	Trade-shows	Sales
Chi-sq	31.695	39.46	29.941	6.345	12.989	15.355
df	12	12	12	12	12	12
p-value	0.002	0.000	0.003	0.898	0.370	0.223

TABLE 8 Textbooks Used in MICE Courses

Textbook title	Author (publication date)	Frequency of use
Convention Management and Service	Astroff, M. T., & Abbey, J. R. (2006)	2
Event Management for Tourism, Cultural, Business, and Sporting Events	Van Der Wagen, L., & Carlos, B. R. (2004)	1
Event Marketing: How to Successfully Promote Events, Festivals, Conventions and Expositions	Hoyle, L. H. (2002)	1
Event Planning	Allen, J. (2000)	1
Hospitality Sales: Selling Smarter	Siguaw, J., & Bojanic, D. (2003)	1
Meetings, Conventions, and Expositions: An Introduction to the Industry	Montgomery, R., & Strick, S. (1995)	1
Meetings, Expositions, Events, and Conventions: An Introduction to the Industry	Fenich, G. (2008)	5
On-Premise Catering	Shock, P., & Stefanelli, J. M. (2001)	1
Professional Event Coordination	Silvers, J. (2003)	1
Professional Meeting Management	Ramsborg, G. C. (Ed.). (2006)	4
The Art of the Show	Morrow, S. L. (2001)	3
The Book of Yields	Lynch, F. (2005)	1
The Business of Event Planning	Allen, J. (2002)	1
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Meeting and Event Planning	Craven, R. E., & Golabowski, L. J. (2001)	1

TABLE 9 Teaching and Assessment Methods

Teaching/assessment method	Percentage	N = 28
Lecture	96.4	27
Exams	85.7	24
Participation/attendance	67.8	19
Research papers	46.4	13
Guest speakers	42.9	12
Problem-based learning	35.7	10
Quizzes	35.7	10
Student-led planning project	35.7	10
Case study	32.1	9
Term paper	28.6	8
Student presentations	25	7
Experiential exercise/lab component	17.9	5

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Van der Wagen , L. and Carlos , B. R. 2004 . Event management for tourism, cultural, business and sporting events , Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall .

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Hoyle , L. H. 2002 . Event marketing: How to successfully promote events, festivals, conventions and expositions , New York : Johns Wiley & Sons .

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Allen , J. 2000 . Event planning: The ultimate guide to successful meetings, corporate events, fundraising galas, conferences, conventions, incentives and other special events , Toronto, Ontario, , Canada : John Wiley & Sons .

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Siguaw , J. A. and Bojanic , D. C. 2003 . Hospitality sales: Selling smarter , New York : Delmar Learning .

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Montgomery , R. J. and Strick , S. K. 1995 . Meetings, conventions and expositions: An introduction to the industry , New York : John Wiley & Sons .

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Shock , P. and Stefanelli , J. M. 2001 . On-premise catering: Hotels, convention & conference centers, and clubs , New York : John Wiley & Sons .

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Silvers , J. R. 2003 . Professional event coordination , New York : Wiley .

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Ramsborg , G. C. 2006 . Professional meeting management , 5th , Chicago, IL : Professional Convention Management Association Education Foundation .

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Morrow , S. L. 2001 . The art of the show: An introduction to the study of exposition management , 2nd , Dallas, TX : International Association for Exposition Management Foundation .

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Lynch , F. 2005 . The book of yields , 6th , New York : John Wiley & Sons .

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Allen , J. 2002 . The business of event planning: Behind the scenes secrets of successful special events , Toronto, Ontario, , Canada : John Wiley & Sons .

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Craven , R. E. and Golabowski , L. J. 2001 . The complete idiot's guide to meeting and event planning , Upper Saddle River, NJ : Pearson Education .

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