Beyond the Obvious Concerns
The computing side of Y2K is not the only one component involved with a college or university becoming Y2K compliant, Evans says.
Higher education institutions have to ensure that campus facilities, research environments, health services, and security systems such as elevators, machinery, refrigeration equipment, and laboratories, are Y2K compliant as well. After internal technology needs are met, schools have to focus on their interactions with vendors and the communities in which they reside, which is the basis for contingency planning by the school, he says.
On many campuses, however, information technology professionals have assumed or been appointed to lead Y2K compliance efforts even though the computing component represents one of several elements. Evans says his work in planning for Y2K computer compliance, which began a year before the college put together a Y2K taskforce, put him in a position where he became recognized on campus as the most knowledgeable about the topic. Information technology has "probably gotten the most attention" with regard to schools becoming Y2K compliant, he says.
And because of that attention, many believe that HBCUs are giving greater priority to campus computing needs.
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