HOS 4050: Meeting and Convention Management
Course Overview and Objective
Welcome to HOS 4050, Meeting and Convention Management. This is a fast‐growing field with many
exciting job opportunities. This course deals with the elements and issues that impact the
management of large and small conventions, meetings, and events. Our objective in this course is to
explore the following areas: meeting site selection, program planning and budgeting, legal issues,
insurance implications, housing, food and beverage arrangements, transportation, exposition
management, marketing, and audiovisual services. The course has been updated to include a section
on green meetings and social responsibility.
The course includes ten lessons. Each lesson covers one or two chapters from the text. You will find
a written assignment with each lesson as well as study questions.
This course syllabus provides the information you will need to get started, including the course
requirements and list of lessons.
Required Textbook
See course description for updated list of required texts.
Course Requirements
Written assignments: 70 percent of grade
Final exam: 30 percent of grade
Written assignments (70 percent)
Your written assignments count 70 percent of your final grade. In some cases you will be asked to
build on what you have put together in earlier written assignments. It is important that you keep the
assignments you have done for possible future reference. Some assignments ask you to get
information from various sources. Be certain to cite all reference materials you use.
Write out each question and provide your answer directly under the question.
Submit your written assignments according to the instructions in each lesson. Proofread your work
and keep a copy for your records. Your assignments must be double‐spaced and submitted as
attached Word files. If you do not have Word, save the file as a rich text format (.rtf) file.
Final exam (30 percent)
Your final exam counts 30 percent of your final grade. You must pass a supervised final exam in order
to receive credit for the course. You will need to schedule a time to take your exam with the Self‐
paced Courses office.
Each lesson has a section called “Possible Exam Questions.” The final exam will consist of at least ten
and no more than twenty of these questions verbatim. You might find it helpful to prepare note
cards with the answers for each question for study purposes. I recommend that you answer these
questions in detail while you are studying a particular lesson. The information will be freshest in your
mind at that point.
How to Proceed
After you have reviewed the information on this syllabus:
Click on the Lesson 1 link, accessible via the left‐hand sidebar of the Sakai site.
Read the Lesson Objectives to get an idea of what you will cover in the lesson.
Complete the Reading Assignment from the textbook and websites.
Read the Lesson Overview and Lesson Notes.
Check out the links to websites I have provided in the “If You Want More” section.
Make sure you can answer all the Possible Exam Questions.
Complete the Written Assignment in a word‐processing program such as Word.
You will then be ready to Submit Your Assignment by following the instructions provided in
each lesson.
You will follow this procedure for each lesson in the course.
Contacting Your Instructor
I hope you enjoy and gain much useful information from this course. Please contact me any time
with questions or comments, or you can email your questions and comments to me along with your
assignments.
Academic Policies
By enrolling as a student in this course, you agree to abide by the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill policies related to the acceptable use of online resources. Please consult the Acceptable
Use Policy on topics such as copyright, net‐etiquette, and privacy protection.
As part of this course, you may be asked to participate in online activities that may include personal
information about you or other students in the course. Please be respectful of the rights and
protection of other participants under the UNC‐Chapel Hill Information Security Policies when
participating in online classes.
When using online resources offered by organizations not affiliated with UNC‐Chapel Hill, such as
Google or YouTube, please note that the terms and conditions of these companies and not the
University’s Terms and Conditions apply. These third parties may offer different degrees of privacy
protection and access rights to online content. You should be well aware of this when posting
content to sites not managed by UNC‐Chapel Hill.
When you are directed to links outside of the unc.edu domain, please be mindful that clicking on
sites not affiliated with UNC‐Chapel Hill may pose a risk for your computer due to the possible
presence of malware on such sites.
Academic Integrity
You are bound by the Appalachian State University Code of Student Conduct, in particular the
Academic Integrity Code:
Students will not lie, cheat, or steal to gain academic advantage.
Violations include the following of particular importance in this course:
Lying. False academic information in any form, regardless of communication method (e.g.,
including e‐mail or other electronic communication).
Cheating. The use of fraud or deceit to gain an advantage in academic endeavors, regardless of
delivery methods (e.g., face‐to‐face, online, or via distance education). Examples of cheating
include, but are not limited to, fraud, deception, impermissible communication of
information, copying, falsifying data, unauthorized use or possession of study aids,
memoranda, books, data, or other information, for the purpose of unfairly manipulating
academic materials.
Plagiarism. Presenting the words or ideas of another as one's own work or ideas. All directly
quoted material must be properly cited. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, borrowing,
downloading, cutting and pasting, and paraphrasing without acknowledgement, including from
online sources, or allowing an individual's academic work to be submitted as another's work.
Unauthorized Assistance. Giving or receiving assistance not specifically permitted by an
instructor.
Course Outline
Begin by clicking the link for Lesson 1 in the navigation bar at left.
Lesson 1
Introduction to the Meetings, Expositions, Events, and Conventions Industry
Lesson 2
Meeting, Exhibition, Event, and Convention Organizers and Sponsors
Lesson 3
Destination Marketing Organizations; Meeting and Convention Venues
Lesson 4
Exhibitions and Service Contractors
Lesson 5
Destination Management Companies and Special Events Management
Lesson 6
Planning and Producing MEEC Gatherings
Lesson 7
Food and Beverage
Lesson 8
Legal Issues in the MEEC Industry
Lesson 9
Technology and the Meeting Professional
Lesson 10
Green Meetings and Social Responsibilities
Schedule Your Final Exam with the Self‐paced Courses office.
Course Evaluation: Please take a moment to share your comments with us. We want to know if
this course met your needs and expectations.
© The University of North Carolina
Send comments and questions to fridaycenter@unc.edu.