Western Governors University (WGU) is looking for Subject Matter Experts to participate in an Program Design project for our General Education: Communication and Collaboration in higher Education course. Subject Matter Experts provide valuable real-world knowledge and experience to develop the courses we offer our students.

This is a part-time/project-based position, where you would work with WGU as an Independent Contractor. Applicants must reside in the United States.

Project Type:  Program Design

Project Details: 

This is a high level design project in which SMEs will be tasked with helping the design of our General Education core competencies. Activities that will occur in the synchronous and asynchronous work include reviewing inputs such as skills and market analyses, framework requirements, and research, generating ideas with rationale for course, competencies, content and approaches, mapping course ideas to requirements, and creating a program architecture and courses that enable learners to achieve General Education outcomes.

Qualifications:

• Terminal Degree in Communication studies, Organizational Leadership, Media Studies, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, or English. Interdisciplinary degrees preferred.
• 5+ yrs Experience with teaching both face-to-face and online communication strategies
• Skills include; Instructional expertise, storytelling, multicultural fluency, persuasive writing, public speaking, Communications, Influence, Active Listening, Collaboration, Team Building.
• Faculty or Administrative experience in General Education at a higher education level.

Dates: October 6th- December 31st, 2025

Time Commitment: This project is scheduled to take place over twelve weeks. We are looking for candidates who can commit to 10-15 hours per week. Each week there will be two 90 minute synchronous meetings held somewhere between 9am-3pm MDT. The additional 7-12 hours of work per week will be asynchronous.

Compensation: $50 per hour.

General Description of Other Compensation and Benefits:

This is an independent contractor position that is not eligible for other compensation and benefits.

Application Deadline:

September 15th, 2025

How to Apply 

Directly through WGU Worksuite

If selected, you will receive an email from a WGU employee with next steps to join the project. If you do not hear from us, it is because we have either filled all the spots, or your experience/degree did not match the criteria.