The parties may be excluded when the Committee meets in executive session. The faculty member may be accompanied by an attorney as a nonparticipating advisor. Should the faculty member elect to have an attorney present, the Department Head may also be accompanied by an attorney. The attorneys for the parties may confer and advise their clients upon adjournment of the proceedings at reasonable intervals to be determined by the Chairman, but may not question witnesses, introduce evidence, make objections or present argument during the hearing. However, the right to have an attorney present can be denied, discontinued, altered, or modified if the Committee finds that such is necessary to ensure its ability to properly conduct the hearing.
Testimony is under oath or affirmation before a certified court reporter.
Rules of evidence and procedure are not applied strictly, but the Chairman shall exclude irrelevant or unduly repetitious testimony. The Chairman shall rule on all matters related to the conduct of the hearing and may be assisted by University Counsel. At the request of the faculty member, the Chairman shall invite an AAUP representative to be present during the hearing as a non-participating observer. The hearing shall be recorded by a certified court reporter. In any hearing in which the faculty member has alleged discrimination, the report shall include a description of the evidence presented with regard to this allegation and the conclusions of the Committee regarding the allegations of discrimination.