This report describes efforts by Alverno College (Wisconsin) to reform the traditional liberal arts curriculum and redefine the relevance of women's colleges. Beginning in the early 1970s, the college began to refocus student learning by integrating ability development and performance-based knowledge. Faculty and staff redefined the curriculum, basing requirements not just on disciplinary content but also on the mastery and application of eight abilities: communication, analysis, problem solving, values in decision making, social interaction, global perspectives, effective citizenship, and aesthetic responsiveness. Rather than assigning letter grades, the college registrar keeps track of students' mastery of each ability, based on student work that becomes part of an extensive portfolio. The college also draws upon the experience of 600 external assessors to help evaluate students' progress. To develop and refine the college's changing curriculum, each faculty member is affiliated with both an academic department and an ability area, and each year faculty engage in three week-long institutes to address the curriculum. Comments from students and an administrator on the effectiveness of the college's curriculum are included. (MDM)