Angered by sweeping changes to the Certified Meeting Management (CMM) designation, hundreds of meeting planners are voicing their displeasure—and pressuring Meeting Professionals International (MPI) to rethink revisions to the program.
Following a recent move by MPI and its new LLC partner, the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), to propose changes to the CMM program, an online survey of the worldwide total of 938 CMMs was conducted from Feb. 18 to 22, 2014.
Nearly 20 percent of existing CMMs completed the survey. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of the respondents were “not in favor of the changes outlined by MPI.”
Based on this response, the data collected, and the majority opinions expressed, a petition was crafted to spur changes to the new CMM benchmarks put in place by MPI and GBTA.
“In eight days, we garnered 411 signatures and many thoughtful, articulate comments," said Ann Rebentisch, CMP, CMM, and founder of Handshake Events and a 456 CMM-only member LinkedIn Group (member count recorded at the time of this publication).
The petition urges that MPI:
1. Retain the 10-year experiential requirement for eligibility and acceptance.
2. Rescind the honorary CMM credentials awarded to SMMC designees in January 2014. SMMC designees may earn the CMM designation by meeting the 10-year requirement and submitting a business plan or completing the new program at a reduced rate.
3. Restore the Certificate in Meeting Management acronym and explanation regarding the program’s original stature and requirements on www.mpiweb.org.
4. If the above changes cannot be incorporated, it is requested that the new MPI/GBTA program use a name other than “CMM.”
Rebentisch spearheaded the online survey and ensuing petition; she also recently crafted a blog post for Meetings Focus on the issue.
