In an effort to prepare the University's computer systems for the year 2000, the Information Technology Division has announced that its "Planning for the Millennium" project will now incorporate individual campus units.
The project stems from IBM's "Year 2000" computing awareness seminars in the '70s and '80s and has been underway for several years.
José-Marie Griffiths, the University's chief information officer, said computer date coding is the culprit behind the new millennium's technology problem.
"Computers use different methods to store dates," Griffiths said.
In the year 2000, she explained, computers may become confused as to whether a "35" represents 1935 or 2035.
"This presents a problem," Griffiths said. "According to the computer, University staff may qualify for retirement before their start date."
Griffiths said the University Central Computing System was the program's top priority since it encompasses payroll and student registration.
"We started with the more critical problems," Griffiths said, adding that the CCS changes will be completed by January 1999.
To enhance awareness of more individualized University computing changes in the year 2000, the program has initiated a plan to have all campus divisions submit assessments of their potential computing problems.
"We know we have to do something, we just have no idea what the problems are," Griffiths explained. "It would be hard to look at each laptop on campus." Griffiths said the unit assessment, due July 1, will help identify similar problems among campus divisions.
Griffiths said various University departments will be asked to compose action plans to accommodate common problems. Griffiths added that projections of resources needed to achieve compliance - the ability of computers to understand year 2000 dates - will also be developed. The plans will be due this September. Gilbert Omenn, executive vice president for medical affairs, said the computing changes which come with the project are ones "every student should be aware of" for the University to be well prepared.
"The risks are real," Omenn said, adding students should make sure they know what their individual computing programs have in store for them.
Regent Martin Taylor (D-Grosse Point Farms) said implementation of the plan will take extra effort because of the University's magnitude.
"With an institution this size, it is going to take an extreme effort from a lot of dedicated people," Taylor said.
05-18-98
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