The Urbana-Champaign Senate announced the Aviation Institute’s hearing will take place from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Mar. 8 at 100 Noyes Laboratory.

The final day to submit comments is Mar. 10.

Both proponents and opponents of the Institute of Aviation will have the opportunity to discuss and share their viewpoints at the hearing. The final vote will not be cast until a few days after the hearing, as a committee reviews the comments and inputs.

“Once we have the public hearing, then our committee will begin deliberation on the proposal,” said Abbas Aminmansour, chair of the Education Policy Committee. “It’s not uncommon to have a discussion not only within ourselves, but also to have others come speak with us, share information and ask questions after that. If the committee comes to conclusion they will vote and forward the recommendation to the Senate.”

Typically, in the beginning of the hearing, the sponsors and unit heads, including the department head or dean will speak for about 3-5 minutes each. Then the floor is open to questions and comments, Aminmansour said. There’s a time constraint for the speakers and the audience.

“The minutes of the meetings are taken and forwarded to the Senate,” Aminmansour said. “There will be a vote of the faculty involved in the unit or units. Those votes are advisory and forwarded to the Senate as part of the package.”