Rosen introduces Event Management certificate

Both current and former students looking to broaden their horizons and get into the event planning industry need look no further than the event management certificate course at Rosen College.

The event management certificate program is designed to train students to work in the event management industry and move forward in their career. The six-month course meets one Friday and Saturday per month, and combines web-based learning with face-to face instruction.

"We had an undergraduate degree in event management, and we found a lot of people asking us if we had other educational opportunities in event management," said Dr. Deborah Breiter, chair of the department of tourism at Rosen College.

Breiter oversees the faculty in the event management certificate program and also helped to develop the program.

"People who couldn't come back to undergraduate school, or didn't want a degree but just wanted a certificate, so we thought ‘let's have a certificate program.'"

Sharon Printy, executive administrative assistant at Puff ‘n Stuff Events and Catering, recently received her event management certificate from Rosen College. After taking over planning events for her former employer, Paychex, Printy decided to utilize her company's education dollars, which pay for their employees to further their education as long as it pertains to their job, and study to receive an event management certificate.

"It has given me more formal training in event planning," Printy said. "My company, Paychex, was bought by another company, and our company disbanded. At that point, I was forced to look for a new job and I think that is what gave me a leg up on the competition here at Puff ‘n Stuff."

Printy said she most enjoyed the small class sizes and one-on-one interaction offered by the program. She also enjoyed the wide array of guest speakers from the industry, recalling one speaker who even brought in a time-lapsed photo presentation of an event from setup to break down.

In addition to that, Printy said that she appreciated that the program was set up to cater to students with full-time jobs, only meeting once a month and relying partially on web-based education.

"People don't want to spend that much time in the classroom," Breiter said. "Some of the people who come to the program work, so they can't afford to take Friday off from work to sit in the classroom Friday and Saturday. So this way, I think we only have one Friday requirement, so that way they can do all of the course work online, and come in face-to-face on Saturday."

According to Breiter, students enrolled in the event management certificate program should expect to be working with faculty who have all worked in the event management industry, who are connected in the industry and know first-hand what it takes to put on a successful event.

"They learn all of the nuts and bolts of event planning," said Suzan Bunn, an instructor in the event management certificate program. "From food and beverage to transportation to setting goals to actually lay[ing] out an event on paper, all of the aspects of planning and event, they learn in the certificate program. So they can walk out of that program and feel comfortable planning an event."

The event management certificate program is not just for graduates in a related field looking to move up in the workforce but also for those who may be looking for a change in career and are curious about event management.

"If there are university students who are interested in the event business, but don't really know what it entails, aren't sure of what the skills required would be, this is something that they might look into to supplement their undergraduate degree," Breiter said.