diff --git a/app/models/validations/date_validations.rb b/app/models/validations/date_validations.rb
index eb240e7ab..379ab9bb5 100644
--- a/app/models/validations/date_validations.rb
+++ b/app/models/validations/date_validations.rb
@@ -69,11 +69,11 @@ module Validations::DateValidations
 private
 
   def previous_collection_start_suffix
-    previous_collection_start_date.strftime("%y")
+    previous_collection_start_date.strftime("%y").to_i
   end
 
   def current_collection_start_suffix
-    current_collection_start_date.strftime("%y")
+    current_collection_start_date.strftime("%y").to_i
   end
 
   def previous_collection_start_date