Instructional Designer

Location - This role is hybrid with a mix of remote and in-person. Work primarily takes place at Enterprise Square, Edmonton.

This posting will be used to fill up to four positions.

Online Learning and Continuing Education (OCE) is a central University of Alberta (U of A) service unit that partners with colleges, faculties, and external partners to develop prioritized online programming. OCE primarily serves working professionals and mature learners by developing career-relevant online programs, including online graduate certificates, course-based master’s, and non-credit micro-credentials. By leveraging OCE’s deep expertise in online learning, the unit drives the development of quality, scalable programming to expand enrollment, reach new student populations, and provide accessible educational pathways.

Within OCE, the Online Learning team is responsible for

Strategic partnership & consultative support for new online programs

Online program design and development

Leadership in quality initiatives that elevate online learning across the university

Guidance to launch new online programs in market

The Instructional Designer plays a key role in the design of quality, pedagogically sound online courses at the U of A. As part of the OCE team, the Instructional Designer will engage in course discovery, design, and quality assurance, making recommendations that provide a strong, supportive learning experience for students. The Instructional Designer may be assigned new online course development projects and/or may support maintenance of existing online courses. This work may span both graduate and undergraduate online courses at the U of A, and may also include non-credit courses as required.

The Instructional Designer is excited by the art of the possible in online learning. A creative yet pragmatic thinker, the Instructional Designer is eager to design experiences that are impactful, memorable, actionable, and align with pedagogies and best practices for online learning. The Instructional Designer is a skilled communicator who will work closely with academics, SMEs, and instructors to provide guidance, recommendations, and support throughout the course development process and to ensure that deliverables meet and exceed the expectations of all partners.

The Instructional Designer will lead the discovery and design of new course development projects. This includes project kickoff with the instructor, persona development, discovery documentation (course mapping, assessment matrix, and engagement strategy), content templates, and design recommendations. The Instructional Designer will also work closely with Learning Experience Developers - who build the courses in the Learning Management System, Canvas - performing quality reviews of developed modules.

The Instructional Designer also plays a role in course maintenance. This includes performing course reviews and evaluating course health, drawing on instructor feedback, course analytics, institutional data, and student feedback to guide recommendations. The Instructional Designer will lead the maintenance consultations, develop recommendations for maintenance work, monitor scope, work with the instructor and Learning Experience Developer through changes, and provide quality assurance reviews.

The Instructional Designer ensures quality across every experience, compliance with copyright and accessibility standards, and collaboration with internal partner groups to apply inclusive, accessible and culturally responsive approaches to online learning design, informed by the University's commitment to Indigenous Initiatives and Access, Community and Belonging.

The incumbent will work closely with Online Learning’s project management team to align resources and monitor projects, and reports directly to a Senior Instructional Designer, Online Learning & Continuing Education.

Guiding Principles and Practices

Apply best practices for online learning, including online pedagogical/andragogical approaches to teaching and learning.

Design with quality in mind, grounded in OCE's Quality Statement and informed by external frameworks such as the Online Learning Consortium or other international guidelines or standards, drawing on documentation such as the ID Quality Checklist, OCE Style Guide, Online Learning Design Philosophy, and accessibility standards, such as WCAG.

Contribute to OCE’s overall approach to quality assurance through continuous process improvement, skill and knowledge enhancement, and design approach.

Be familiar with copyright legislation and make recommendations to Academic Content Creators (ACC) on copyright and Fair Dealing compliance when considering third-party content; liaise with the Copyright Office as required.

Apply inclusive, accessible, and culturally responsive practices throughout discovery, design, and development, in alignment with Indigenous Initiatives and Access, Community and Belonging commitments, and connect ACCs with relevant resources and supports as needed.

Throughout the course development process, critically evaluate opportunities to incorporate emerging technology (e.g. Artificial Intelligence) and pedagogical approaches (e.g. Experiential Learning and Work-Integrated Learning) where they meaningfully support the course’s learning experience and outcomes.

Make recommendations in alignment with relevant academic policies and regulations (e.g. grading, academic integrity, accommodations, etc.).

Align course design practices with strategic university initiatives to ensure learning experiences reflect institutional values.

Critically evaluate and judiciously apply AI in instructional design practice, considering both the pedagogical implications and its appropriateness within course design workflows.

Discovery

Orient partners to the online course development process and showcase the art of the possible by sharing examples of exceptional digital learning experiences.

Consult with the ACC to shape and refine course-level learning outcomes, ensuring alignment with relevant program-level outcomes.

Coach the ACC in completing discovery documentation, such as an assessment matrix (an outcomes-alignment plan) and a course map (a scope-and-sequence blueprint) around those outcomes, using a critical lens and offering feedback on module structure and the course's engagement approach to strengthen the learning experience.

Guide the ACC in developing course-level learner personas, informed by relevant program personas, to shape strategies that fit the course to the student experience.

Coach ACCs on choosing delivery and engagement strategies (e.g., active learning techniques, peer-to-peer interaction, multimedia integration, etc.) or on translating in-person content into online equivalents that reflect the broader program vision while meeting course learning outcomes and student needs.

In collaboration with the LXD, present the ACC with design direction options for the course, such as visual style, colour palette, or media approach.

Design & Development

Guide the ACC through content development as they draft core content using OCE’s pre-approved content templates.

Support the ACC in structuring content, making recommendations for interactives, enrichments, activities, and multimedia.

Evaluate and identify institutionally supported third-party tools, technology, software, or other integrations and make recommendations for use that will enhance the student learning experience.

Collaborate with the OCE Learning Experience Developers on the development of interactives, activities, simulations, and other enrichments within the digital build and recommend required LMS settings (group, assessment, progression, etc.).

Work with the ACC to recommend enhancements for summative assessments (discussions, group work, quizzing, assignments) or opportunities for formative assessments that are connected to the learning outcomes.

Engage in scripting for multimedia assets, such as video interviews or animations.