Plans for Y2K

A Task Force under the direction of Vice President (Academic) Graham Taylor has begun to develop procedures to deal with the Year 2000 Millennium Bug, which may cause problems for some university computers.

The "Y2K bug" is most likely to affect programs that rely heavily upon dates, such as registration databases, accounting software and complex spreadsheets. It may also affect electronic equipment which has embedded microprocessors which are date dependent, such as fax machines, VCRs and computerized telephone switches. Personal computers used by faculty or students may also encounter problems, particularly if the equipment or software was produced before 1996.

The Task Force has begun to develop a Trent Year 2000 Plan. The Director of Physical Resources is conducting an inventory of major university systems and equipment. The Task Force will monitor the progress of the Datatel planning group toward introducing new systems in Financial Services and Student Information Services. The Associate Dean (Science) is conducting an inventory of equipment in Science departments to ensure these are protected.

The current Trent Web site on "The Y2K Problem" is being updated to include information for all computer users on how to determine if equipment is safe and what steps may be required to deal with problems, along with links to other Y2K websites.