The student's goal in the program is to be assessed for all ten general education abilities (shown to the left). After all, these abilities comprise 10 of 11 of the General Studies outcomes. Therefore, students, with the assistance of advisors, should "map out" the courses that assess for the ten abilities, particularly in the 12 general electives they must take in order to complete the program.

Students and their advisors will recognize which abilities they have not been assessed for and enroll in general elective courses that fill in those gaps. For instance, it can be reasonably assumed that Communication and Critical Thinking are two abilities that will be covered in many of the courses they take. If students, however, have not been assessed in Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills, then they  would be well-advised to take a general electives course that fufills that requirement.

It is critical then for students to be in constant contact with advisors so that this mapping can provide them with the greatest possible exposure to the greatest number of abilities.

Students should also be aware of the ultimate mission of the General Studies Program, which is to have students "demonstrate a knowledge base that fulfills an interdisciplinary program that reflects their intellectual, academic, and professional goals." This is where the capstone course ties everything together in an interdisciplinary and ability-based fashion.