Private industry, especially financial institutions, are probably best prepared, stated Len Brush, assistant vice president for administrative computing and information services at Carneige Mellon University. The federal and state governments are the least ready to deal with the problem, he added. The lack of preparedness of businesses and governments that colleges and universities partner with could also cripple campuses. If students don't receive their student loans for the spring semester on time, the tuition revenue stream would be affected. If a bank is not compliant, interest income could be lost.
Most major banks are well on their way toward fixing their systems.
But midsize and small banks are lagging behind, said George Junker, vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in an interview with BusinessWeek . Five to 20 percent of banks are predicted to fail as a direct result of the Year 2000 issue. Most in higher education do not believe the Y2K problem will cripple the nation. The sky will not fall at the stroke of midnight, said UC Davis' Kuo. However, UC Davis has identified several areas where even a prepared institution could be vulnerable.