Should Cambridge lose power, for example, all locks will revert to the locked position. The system will then run for a time on batteries, but it can't function on back-up power indefinitely.

The direct digital control system, which is responsible for heating dormitories and buildings, has also been designated Y2K compliant, but, like many other systems, it also relies on a power source outside the University.

Lichten says provisions are being made for those who will remain on-campus during the holidays in the case of an extreme emergency situation in which systems--and consequently buildings--shut down for days on end.

"Arrangements have been made for catastrophic circumstances," Lichten says. "We'd rather overestimate than be unprepared."

At the medical and dental schools, according to Jane Garfield, local coordinator for Harvard Medical School operations, each department will have one or more representatives working on New Year's Eve to monitor labs, systems and other equipment.

Also, Garfield says, representatives from facilities maintenance, engineering and utilities, environmental health and safety, security, Internet technology, and the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD), in conjunction with outside vendors, will be on site from 6 p.m. on Dec. 31 through Monday, Jan. 3.

"At midnight [on New Year's Eve], representatives will walk the buildings

in teams to identify any issues or malfunctions which may have occurred," she adds.