Every year tens of thousands of first-time freshmen admitted to California State University campuses start their college experience informed they are not ready for college level work. This message is disheartening, and of those 25,000 freshmen receiving it, 1 in 4 will not return for the second year and only 10 percent will graduate in four years.

This is unacceptable.

The CSU is committed to the success of each of our 484,000 students. Through recent policy changes — part of a university-wide Graduation Initiative 2025 — we are changing how we support students to ensure that all have the opportunity to graduate with a high-quality degree.

As a result, the lives of thousands of Californians will be transformed by the potential that accompanies receiving an education and earning a college degree. We will also produce more graduates prepared to meet California’s future workforce needs.

To help achieve these results, the CSU announced policy changes to support students, including changes to help those who begin college today by taking developmental courses that do not count toward their degree.

In a recent column, San José State University emeritus faculty member Larry Gerston correctly points out that, for a variety of reasons, many students are challenged by the CSU’s existing developmental education policies.

Unfortunately, Dr. Gerston has a fundamental misunderstanding of the goals of the CSU’s initiative. Through the policy changes, we will accomplish the opposite of his supposition.

Rather than relying on a placement test to judge aptitude in English or mathematics, CSU campuses will take a more well-rounded, more accurate view of a student’s academic readiness, including high-school GPA and coursework as well as scores on the Smarter Balanced assessment, ACT, SAT or AP tests. This will provide a more fulsome understanding of how a student will best succeed in college-level classes.

The CSU is not simply “eliminating remedial classes.” Instead, if students need additional support, they will participate in redesigned courses and receive additional support while they earn college credit toward a degree.

For example, students might take two courses simultaneously, allowing them to build their foundation of knowledge while mastering skills that will be used throughout college. Alternatively, students might enroll in a course that takes a subject and “stretches” the learning process across two terms – allowing for a deeper dive that leads to mastery of English or math concepts.

These models have been tested. Twenty-one CSU campuses have successfully piloted similar English courses. Several are doing so in math. Other states, including Georgia, New York and Tennessee, have implemented similar changes and achieved success.

The CSU has also facilitated development opportunities for faculty to learn from experts, share best practices and develop new approaches about how best to incorporate these concepts into courses. We will provide campuses with support and resources to ensure smooth implementation of the new policies.

The CSU has been a national leader in higher education, and we must continue leading, for our students and for California, which needs more college graduates well prepared to fill the jobs of tomorrow.

We know what is at stake.

The first year of college, especially for underserved students, matters for their chances of being successful and earning a degree. The recent policy changes will support all students by ensuring an opportunity to begin earning college credit their first day.

When students are accepted to a CSU campus, we have a responsibility to help them achieve their academic goals. To do anything else would be a disservice to them and to our state.

Dr. Loren Blanchard is the executive vice chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs for the California State University system.