California community college district chancellors, presidents and faculty members will meet at UC Davis March 5 to discuss cooperative efforts between community colleges and UC. "Partners in Higher Education," the 13th UC Davis/Community College Symposium, will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Walter A. Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center.

"The primary focus of this year's meeting will be how the university and community colleges can improve their interactions and collaborations with special attention to the transfer process during these difficult budgetary times," according to Daniel Roy, director of Student Special Services at UC Davis and chair of the symposium.

This year the symposium attendees will receive "updates" from newly appointed California Community Colleges Chancellor Mark Drummond and from UC Executive Director Margaret Heisel. Two panel presentations will follow -- one on "Cal Pass," an initiative that collects, analyzes and shares student data in order to track performance and improve success from elementary school through university, and the other on "Creating a College Going Culture" at the elementary and secondary levels.

Panel presentations will be followed by a discussion led by UC Vice President Winston Doby. The luncheon keynote speaker will be California State Secretary for Education Richard Riordan. He plans to address the topic: "Working Together to Enhance the Transfer Process."

For the 2004 academic year, UC Davis anticipates enrolling about 1,900 new transfer students -- at least 90 percent of these students come from California's community colleges. This is in line with the campus' historical commitment to provide transfer students access to the university, Roy said.