(Hybrid) Instructional Designer - Office of the Dean, Eberly College of Arts & Sciences - West Virginia University

Description

The Office of the Dean in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences is currently accepting applications for a (Hybrid) Instructional Designer.

About the Opportunity

This position will work collaboratively with Eberly College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS) administrators, faculty, and academic peers of the University to ensure best practices for designing, developing, and implementing on-campus/online/hybrid courses. The incumbent will support quality assurance by following guidelines set by the ECAS Curriculum and Academic Policy Committee (CAPC) and University (i.e. Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, etc.) into course development, reporting directly to the ECAS Director for Online Education.

Through collaboration with the ECAS Deans Office, Department Chairs and Faculty, and team members, you will design engaging and effective instructional materials. Assist in the development of course materials that are functional, intuitive, informative, and consistent with sound instructional design principles and best practices. Develop and provide recommendations for interface design, sequencing of instruction, use of assessments, and design of course materials and activities. Continually explore new technologies for potential application to instructional requirements and problems.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:

• 37.5-hour work week 

• 13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)

• 24 annual leave (vacation) days per year (employee leave)

• 18 sick days per year (for when you’re ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family’s, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)

• WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits

• 401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ’s.

• Wellness programs

What You'll Do

Course Management and Instructor Support

• Develop and Manage courses in eCampus, including initial construction, content updates and in-term maintenance for all The Eberly College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS) graduate and undergraduate courses.
• Work with the Assistant Dean and Director to guide faculty in selecting the appropriate technologies for online delivery and meet accessibility standards.
• Implementing the migration of on-campus courses from eCampus Vista to Ultra.
• Assess the effectiveness of existing course design and assist faculty/peers with course redesign and to meet guidelines set by the ECAS Curriculum and Academic Policy Committee (CAPC) and University (including Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, etc.).
• Align course content, instructional strategies, and academic support with learning outcomes and student success objectives by ensuring a systematic process for course design and development in all instructional modalities (on-campus, online, and hybrid courses).
• Organize course content into logical sequences, modules, or units, and select appropriate instructional strategies and resources to support learning outcomes.
• Plan and produce designs for instructional materials.
• Provide instructional design and information architecture services and expertise.
• Create instructional materials and resources, including presentations, handouts, worksheets, and multimedia content, to support teaching and learning activities.
• Develop interactive e-learning modules, videos, simulations, or other multimedia assets to engage learners and facilitate knowledge acquisition.
• Provide methods for learning needs analysis to ensure appropriateness of instructional materials and modalities.
• Maintain compliance with ECAS – CAPC, University, and industry regulations relating to quality assurance of course development.
• Ensure the instructional integrity of course development projects through systematic design and clear writing of instructional analyses, narratives and storyboards.
• Communicate frequently and effectively with ECAS faculty and peers to ensure project goals and objectives are being fulfilled.
• Provide consultation to ECAS faculty and other stakeholders in the application of instructional design and the use of instructional technology tools in the delivery of instruction.
• Maintain current working knowledge of available technological resources. Research & identify opportunities for technological innovation in courses. Lead program’s technological advancement and integration projects.
• Provide ongoing technical support for all online instructors.
• Provide troubleshooting for in-course curriculum components and course management tools.
• Manage and integrate customized, supplemental course components including text and video welcome messages, readings, instructional videos and interactive course learning modules into online courses.
• Communicate course-specific information to faculty during each semester.
• Compile faculty course discussion board participation counts for every instructor in every term and report results to assistant program director.
• Assist faculty with external course responsibilities, such as online presentations, final grade reporting and student management issues.
• Report significant faculty-related issues to assistant program director and assist in issue resolution.
• Assist the Director with conducting faculty development and training sessions.
• Document course management process utilized to ensure effective management and secure backup of all master versions of courses.
• Term-specific directories containing all course content backed up before and at the end of each term.
• Implement and maintain comprehensive timeline for course production activities/processes.
• Collaborate with assistant director to guide course developers during file and asset submission and to ensure consistency of course structure.
• Evaluate and request content transfer for each course per term. 
• Using the eCampus Request System (ERS), request content from the most –up-to-date courses are migrated to all upcoming sections.
• Work with eCampus system administrators for any custom content requests.
• Perform other duties and activities as designated by the Director and Assistant Dean.

College Technology Support

• Design, develop and teach faculty development workshops and other forms of professional development in areas of best practices in educational technologies, Quality Matters, emerging technologies in instructional design and specific instructional technology tools.
• Assist in the development, distribution and enforcement of instructional technology policies and procedures.
• Participate in the testing and deployment of Blackboard upgrades, eLearning tools, etc.
• Provide periodic formal/informal reports on course development projects.
• Provide advice and counsel to the ECAS Deans Office on the strategic, tactical, and operational issues associated with the development of instructional technology at the University.
• Represent the ECAS as assigned in meetings, forums and/or conferences.
• Develop and implement a long-term plan to effectively manage, research and incorporate technology within the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS).
• Works collaboratively with Director to supervise the installation, support and troubleshooting of all applicable software and hardware applications as well as oversee hardware purchases with outside vendors.
• Supervise the development of new applications, systems and solutions across the three sites; stay abreast of relevant technology and programs to support ECAS innovation; help to establish a collaborative environment for other Instructional Designers and Technology Specialists on staff, within the university as well as vendors, to create technology solutions and meet technology needs for new media efforts.
• Perform other necessary and appropriate tasks as directed by the ECAS Assistant Dean for Curriculum and Assessment.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a relevant discipline (Education, Higher Education Administration, Instructional Design, etc.)
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience involving:
  • Professional experience in Learning Management System technology.
  • Experience with higher education curriculum.
  • Designing and building online courses.
  • Teaching at a college level.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• This role requires a positive, energetic individual with strong organization and interpersonal skills, who could make independent decisions and multitask.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain high level of customer service.
• Demonstrated excellent oral and written communication.
• Demonstrated ability to set priorities and carry out assignments within established deadlines.
• Demonstrated ability to learn specific institution, college and program policies and procedures.
• Demonstrated superior speaking, writing and editing skills, including grammar, spelling, punctuation, and accepted journalism style. 
• Demonstrated superior skills in project management. 
• Excellent organizational and time management skills required in managing workload, multiple projects, project management, requests, deadlines, etc. 
• Strong computer skills including advanced knowledge of Blackboard-based course delivery platforms are required. 
• Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships and deal tactfully with a variety of people, including internal and external constituents, administrators, faculty, staff, other WVU units’ employees, vendors, and the general public. 
• Demonstrated ability to function with a high degree of independent judgment and personal initiative to identify problems, execute programs, manage concurrent/overlapping and sometimes challenging deadlines and complete projects in a timely manner. 
• Demonstrated ability to pay close attention to detail. 
• Demonstrated ability to function professionally, sometimes under deadlines and/or stressful or confrontational situations. 
• Demonstrated ability to complete essential duties and tasks and achieve required results. 
• Ability to travel to campus and off-campus (including occasional out-of-state) locations as necessary. 
• Ability to maintain attendance and punctuality standards. 
• Ability to work evenings or weekends as necessary.
• Ability to function effectively individually, as well as part of a team.