Instructional Technologist

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

Job Summary:

The Instructional Technologist develops and ensures that online learning products support the vision and design of WGU courses and learning experiences. The Instructional Technologist is responsible for setting up and building online learning experiences according to the design specifications of assigned projects. This role focuses on troubleshooting, solving technical problems related to delivery of learning and assessment materials, and is responsible for creating a consistent, learning experience in the selected platform. The Instructional Technologist also ensures that all aspects of the course work properly (i.e., hyperlinks, videos, sandboxes, third-party integrations) and collaborates with the accessibility team to ensure universal design best practices are met. This role is responsible for the success of simultaneous projects, assessing risks, reporting progress, and communicating effectively with stakeholders.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Manage the build process for new courses and learning experiences and attend to continuous improvement and technology innovations of assigned projects.
• Ensure that quality standards are reflected in all aspects of the student experience.
• Collaborate with development team members to build superior online courses that are supported by research-based best practices in online learning.
• Work with the development team to ensure alignment of learning outcomes, content, and assessment during the build of courses in the selected platform.
• Work with project managers and other team members to ensure all deadline dates are met throughout the design and development process Conduct quality assurance reviews on courses and implement revisions.
• Review external vendor course builds against WGU standards
• Work with the Maintenance team to maintain and update online courses
• Assist with identifying and resolving challenges related to technology, to online delivery of content and assessments, and to the student experience.
• Stay informed about updates, changes, retiring assets, innovations, and opportunities related to WGU’s selected platforms and delivery tools and processes.
• Train and mentor team members on assigned WGU technologies.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skill and Abilities:

• The ability to build online courses according to project requirements and style guides using a Learning Management System (LMS)
• Experience with the backend management of Learning Management Systems (LMS), including troubleshooting, updating, and configuring LMS tools and settings
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of HTML and CSS
• Proficiency in creating or managing multimedia elements such as video, audio, and interactive simulations using third-party applications
• Knowledge and understanding of asset repositories
• Thorough knowledge of instructional design and learning theory
• Effective interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• The ability to collaborate to achieve positive results on projects achieved collaboratively Experience with Universal design for learning (UDL), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and copyright compliance  regulations and requirements
• Familiarity with accessibility testing tools like WAVE or JAWS, and understanding how to ensure online courses meet WCAG standards
• Demonstrated knowledge of agile development or rapid prototyping
• Demonstrated ability to learn new technologies, solve emergent technical problems, and share learnings and suggestions with a team to come to a quick, value-driven solution
• Demonstrated success with developing beautiful, friction-free learning experiences for students in competency-based programs
• The ability to assist with course maintenance and updates using a support ticketing system
• Work collaboratively and professionally with external vendors on course builds and be able to review their work against WGU standards
• Understanding of mobile-friendly learning solutions and responsive design principles to ensure content is optimized for all devices
• Experience with migrating content between LMS platforms and ensuring data integrity during the transfer process
• Ability to manage multiple projects at different stages while meeting deadlines and quality standards
• Ability to work independently, under minimal supervision
• Strong Knowledge of available open educational resources (OERs)
• Demonstrated proficiency with educational technology and assessment/testing tools
• Advanced skills in planning, organizing, and managing priorities

Job Qualifications:

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field of study or equivalent work experience
• Three (3) years of experience working with online university course design, curriculum development, online learning technologies and pedagogies, learner experience design, LMS systems and assessment delivery systems such as Blackboard, Canvas, Smart Author, Brightspace, Moodle, etc., and ensuring quality standards for course design are met

Preferred Qualifications:

• HTML coding skills with additional skills in CSS, AWS Cloud, Google Cloud, and Azure
• Additional experience with the following
  • Competency-based learning
  • Quality assurance training and certification (i.e., CBEN, OSCQR)
  • Post-secondary teaching

Physical Requirements:

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.
• Must be able to lift 15 pounds at times.

Disclaimer: This Job Description has been designed to indicate the general nature, essential duties, and responsibilities of work performed by employees within this classification. It does not contain a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications that are required of the employee to do this job.  Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. This Job Description does not constitute a contract of employment and the University may exercise its employment-at-will rights at any time.

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The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Pay Range: $62,300.00 – $93,500.00

WGU will accept applications for this position until 12:00 AM ET, 10/08/2024

How to apply: apply online

Full-time Regular Positions (FT classification, standard working hours = 40)

This is a full-time, regular position that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

The University is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.