Meeting and Event Planning (MEP) Specialty Certificate enhances your administrative professional role. Administrative Professionals are often asked to plan meetings and events—from board meetings and management retreats to client-facing summits and even executive training programs. From live, in-person meetings to digital events and everything in between, there are myriad ways to bring people together to achieve organizational metrics and goals and deliver results. And while you find planning these types of programs to be an exciting part of the job, you wish there were a method or process to follow to make the organization of meetings and events more efficient.

Join us for this 8-week specialty in Meeting and Event Planning, developed in partnership with industry leader Meeting Professionals International (MPI). Begin with a focus on defining meeting goals and objectives and stakeholder needs before learning how to develop a budget, create a blueprint, manage RFPs and develop contracts. Then, discover how to manage speakers and content, plan menus, design room sets, arrange transport, and oversee logistics. Finally, discover how to evaluate the success of your meeting or event, communicate success and improve your meetings over time.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Identify stakeholders and define SMART goals and objectives for your meetings.
• Source venues, vendors, speakers and content for your events.
• Design experiences that deliver value for your organization.
• Oversee onsite logistics during the execution of your meeting.
• Measure results and demonstrate business value and improve your meeting over time.

To successfully pass this certificate, you will need to participate in weekly calls, watch recorded learnings, read and answer questions about articles and research and submit and pass a final project that showcases your ability to apply the knowledge and best practices discussed in class to a real-life scenario.

CAPstone Program Policies & Participation Guidelines

Course Recommendation

To ensure a high-quality learning experience, we strongly recommend enrolling in only one CAPstone course at a time. This allows you to fully engage with the material, actively participate in discussions, apply your learning in real time, and achieve the strongest professional outcomes.

Pricing & Payment Policy

All CAPstone course fees are all-inclusive and non-refundable.

• IAAP Member Rate: $850 (non-refundable)
• Non-Member Rate: $1,050 (non-refundable)

Pricing includes access to all course materials, live virtual sessions, and instructional resources associated with the program.

Attendance & Participation

CAPstone courses are designed as interactive, cohort-based learning experiences. Active participation is required.

• Participants must attend weekly 60-minute live virtual sessions
• Session days and times are set in advance and communicated on the registration page
• Live attendance is strongly expected to support discussion, collaboration, and applied learning
• By registering, participants acknowledge their ability to commit to the full course schedule and participation requirements.

This course runs from through September 30, 2026 through November 18, 2026. Weekly live calls take place at via learn@iaap portal on Wednesdays from 12:00-1:00pm CST.