He said the University has been working on the Y2K problem for almost a decade. The Y2K bug is essentially a programming oversight in which many computer-chip controlled technologies misread the year 2000 as 1900 resulting in a wide range of potential problems.
Problems can occur in everything from coffee makers to banking systems.
IT Services Associate Director John Nierengarten said the University's mainframe computer, which stores student records among other things, should be problem free by Jan. 1. Neither St. Croix Natural Gas Company or River Falls Public Works and Utilities could be reached for comment, but Smith said the utility companies have assured him their problems are in check. Nierengarten and Smith concede that it would be impossible for ITS alone to safeguard the entire campus because there are devices in some departments that ITS doesn't know about. Just as each department must prepare itself, each campus in the UW-System must as well. He is responsible for communicating information technology news, including Y2K issues, to the River Falls campus.