Problem/Objective: The Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium (TTAC) contributes to the development of the public health workforce by building capacity to achieve effective tobacco control at all levels.

In response to a growing number of evaluation related technical assistance inquiries and requests for a comprehensive program evaluation course from those at the state and local levels alike, TTAC developed the Fundamentals of Evaluation.

Methods: Based on the literature suggesting that web-based learning can be as effective as traditional instruction and in an effort to meet the needs of geographically dispersed working professionals, this training was developed as a distance learning course.

The Fundamentals of Evaluation is an interactive, 12 week, web-based program designed to increase evaluation capacity among those in the tobacco control community, as well as the greater public health community. Participants are given the opportunity to learn the core principles of program evaluation through applied activities, group discussion, and self-assessments. Presented in a series of modules, the information provided is designed to guide participants through the development of a comprehensive evaluation plan.

Results: Evaluation Results for the current cohort of Fundamentals of Evaluation participants will be available June 15, 2007.

Conclusions: TTAC presents its experiences in managing the Fundamentals of Evaluation as a case study for organizations interested in engaging in web-based instruction. This presentation includes the following: a) an introduction to web-based learning; b) an overview of Fundamentals of Evaluation and evaluation results; and c) highlights of promising practices and challenges encountered in the management of the course.