How to Apply

A cover letter and resume are important submissions for the hiring team to get a sense of your experience. In the cover letter, in two pages or less, tell us how your career aspirations and skills will align with the responsibilities of this position. Submit both a cover letter and resume as one file (because of system limitations).

What You’ll Do

The Center for Academic Innovation at the University of Michigan is looking for a qualified Learning Experience Designer to work on the development and iteration of online and hybrid degree and credit-bearing programs. You will help create online course experiences, iterate existing course designs, and support new and existing online degree programs. You will report to the Learning Experience Design Senior.

Who We Are

About the Center for Academic Innovation

The Center for Academic Innovation is where creativity, excellence, and the University of Michigan’s aspirations for societal impact combine to reimagine the future of higher education. Through curricular innovation, educational data and research, and educational technology, we position U-M as a global leader in academic innovation to create and inspire change in higher education and to promote an engaged and informed society.

About the Online Learning at CAI

The Learning Experience Design team supports the development of online and hybrid degree programs, as well as open, non-credit learning experiences, and a range of ongoing activities related to the operation of existing programs. We work with faculty and academic unit leaders to envision how they can expand reach and impact, promote innovative teaching, and support greater access and lifelong learning through the design and iteration of integrated online learning experiences.

For more information, please visit our website: Academic Innovation.

Why Work at Michigan?

Excellent benefits are available, for details, see http://benefits.umich.edu/ 

Responsibilities

Design and development:

• Collaborate with faculty, program leaders, Learning Experience Designers, Design Managers, and Media Designers at the Center for Academic Innovation (CAI) to design high-quality online and hybrid courses
• Apply a range of instructional design methods and learning theories to learner-centered course design
• Collaborate with program administrators, faculty partners, and CAI staff to scope the goals of new and iterative course design projects for online courses
• Create and use learner personas for primary and secondary audiences, ensuring that diverse groups of learners are represented
• Provide course design teams and faculty partners with practical examples to spark ideas and creative solutions
• Support integration of practices that follow regulatory and compliance norms for non-credit and credit-bearing courses, including practices related to credit hour guidance, regular and substantive interaction, and accessibility
• Work with academic unit support staff and CAI team members to develop and/or remediate course materials, including media, to make them more accessible for all students
• Refine and apply templates, checklists, and guidelines to assist faculty in the development and iteration of online and hybrid learning experiences
• Collaborate with Project Managers (PMs) to coordinate and manage project pace and scope
• Explore and integrate existing and new educational tools to assess their potential fit within a given project
• Explore emerging trends in pedagogy, learning design, and digital innovation, such as generative AI, evaluating their implications for higher education, and identifying applications that align with the Center’s commitment to excellence and access
• Review course design decisions to ensure that activities and resources are aligned with programmatic goals and desired course outcomes
• Use feedback to course design teams on the consistency and appropriateness of course content and presentation
• Build content, activities, and assessments on hosting platforms, including the technical integration of learning technology interoperability (LTI) and other third-party educational technology tools
• Characterize the pedagogical design of a course and make research and evidence-based recommendations for immediate iteration and long-term improvement
• Support the Learning Experience Design team in assessing design proposals for innovative online credit-bearing learning experiences to assess feasibility and fit
• Document course design decisions and support hand-off of course development notes to ensure seamless support and iteration of projects

Applied Research:

• Support research planning and protocols that collect data necessary to help academic unit partners understand instructor and learner needs in online and hybrid learning
• Use data where available to inform course improvements and iterations
• Support research projects that improve understanding of online learning design
• Contribute to the discipline of learning experience design and educational technology through diverse formats and outlets (e.g., conference proceedings, journals, blogs, and webinars)

Mentorship and University Service:

• Provide mentorship and professional modeling for student fellows and residents, supervising and providing feedback on their work
• Share learning design expertise through the design, delivery, and evaluation of workshops for faculty and staff
• Stay up to date with applicable educational technologies that may be used in online teaching and learning
• Stay up to date with learning sciences research through professional organizations, journals, and other platforms (e.g., social media, and professional networking sites)
• Attend professional conferences and training to gain new insights into challenges and problem-solving approaches for practice

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in education, curriculum and instruction, learning sciences, instructional design, educational technology, information science, or related field
• 2 to 3 years of experience in education, training, and/or instructional design or teaching experience.
• Experience with learning theories, instructional design methods, and learner-centered design principles
• Awareness of compliance standards for non-credit and for-credit course design, including copyright and accessibility
• Experience working in a highly collaborative, team-based environment
• Independent judgment and service-oriented attitude
• Strong organizational and communication skills
• Experience in ensuring learning experience designs take learner needs, accessibility standards, and underlying technology into consideration
• Experience exploring creative solutions to ensure course materials for all learners are accessible, to the greatest extent possible
• Experience designing learning experiences for online education platforms (e.g., Canvas, Coursera, and edX)
• Experience creating asynchronous and synchronous online learning activities and assessments
• Experience communicating to diverse learner audiences through a variety of modalities

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Please Note: This is a 5-year term-limited position with the possibility of renewal depending on funding.

Must have legal authorization to work in the United States.

The mode of work for this position is Hybrid with a minimum of 4 days in the office per week, Monday through Thursday, with an option of remote work on Fridays. On occasion, you may be required and must be available to work onsite on Fridays if necessitated by our center’s policy and domain leadership or by your job requirements.

Additional Information

Salary Information

The general salary range for this position is $60,000 – $68,000. You can expect to be paid a competitive and equitable salary. Factors used to determine salary include education level and experience for the position and internal equity within the unit. You are encouraged to discuss salary questions to honor understanding and transparency throughout the recruiting process.

The salary for this position will be based on education and experience. 

Must have legal authorization to work in the United States.

Organizational Statement on Harassment

We believe all individuals deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and have the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes mutual respect and a safe space for collaboration. Any concerns shared with any staff members and student employees in the Center for Academic Innovation will be reported to the Equity, Civil Rights, & Title IX Office to be reviewed and addressed, and the Center for Academic Innovation encourages reporting of any forms of harassment including sexual and gender-based harassment.

Background Screening

The University of Michigan conducts background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer and may use a third-party administrator to conduct background checks. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.  The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

Decision Making Process

Applications will be reviewed as received throughout the posting period and continue until the position is filled.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.