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The Center for Academic Innovation is where creativity 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 Online Learning at CAI
The Online Learning group within CAI consists of five teams that collaborate with others across the Center and University to design and develop online learning experiences that support the future of education for a global community. We work with faculty and academic unit leaders to envision how they can expand reach and impact, advance innovative teaching, and support greater access and lifelong learning through the design and development of integrated online learning experiences. Our teams focus on the following areas:
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Strategic sourcing of new opportunities for online learning;
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Developing internal and external partnerships that promote engagement with learning experiences;
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Providing program management services throughout degree program development and operations;
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Supporting end-to-end design and development of online learning experiences, including design management, learning experience design, and iteration of learning experiences after they have launched;
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Supporting learners' success and engagement in live courses and programs.
For more information, please visit our website: Academic Innovation.
Innovative, AI, and Emerging Technology Support
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Collaborate with faculty to design, implement, and evaluate funded AI and emerging technology initiatives.
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Coordinate CAI's Learning Experience Design support to ensure funded projects integrate effective teaching and learning practices.
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Propose technical solutions to pedagogical design challenges through the thoughtful integration of educational technologies
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Work with faculty to identify desired success metrics and provide recommendations for measuring instructional impact.
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Establish evaluation criteria that communicate success with projects with emerging technologies
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Maintain strong partnerships with faculty across multiple projects and units.
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Provide insight and recommendations for future rounds of support for emerging technologies
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Collaborate with CAI Compliance colleagues to document best practices, ethical considerations, and responsible use frameworks.
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Assist in developing workshops, presentations, and resources that enhance AI literacy among educators and learners.
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Contribute to evaluation and dissemination of emerging technology pilot outcomes, including white papers and case studies.
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Serve as an internal resource on the intentional and responsible use of AI and emerging technologies in teaching and learning.
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Work collaboratively with faculty and CAI staff on AI teaching and learning projects, which may include design thinking, rapid prototyping and the design or development of chatbots, agents or learning tools as well as exploring new technologies and informing decisions for future use.
Online Course Design
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Lead complex course design projects with a focus on pedagogical approaches that result in engaging online learning experiences by advocating for learner-centered instructional strategies, and aligning learning outcomes with activities and assessments to ensure continuity between outcomes, course content, and design goals
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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
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Apply a range of instructional design methods and learning theories to learner-centered course design. Implement inclusive design approaches, considering diverse audiences of learners, and foregrounding issues of equity and accessibility throughout the design process
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Support partner and team member relationships, process management, and project success
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Define a scope of work in response to affordances and constraints introduced by program requirements and project partners while ensuring a high-quality course design
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Operate within parameters established by different types of school units, meeting the individual expectations of each varied stakeholders
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Develop and integrate practices that follow regulatory and compliance norms for credit-bearing and non-credit bearing education offerings, including practices related to credit hour guidance, regular and substantive interaction, and accessibility
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Work with academic unit support staff and CAI team members to develop or retrofit course materials including media to make them more accessible for all students
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Propose technical solutions to pedagogical design challenges through the thoughtful integration of educational technologies
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Review course designs to ensure that activities, media, and resources are aligned with targeted learning goals and specified course and program outcomes
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Provide feedback on assessment creation, including multiple-choice quizzes, rubrics, and peer-graded assignments
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Document course design decisions and support hand-off of course development notes to ensure seamless support and iteration of projects
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Evaluate the efficacy of course design to make research- and evidence-based recommendations for iteration and improvement
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Provide formal mentorship and professional modeling for student fellows and student residents through guidance on internal and external projects.
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Explores 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.
The Center for Academic Innovation at the University of Michigan is seeking a qualified Learning Experience Designer Senior to support the design and iteration of a growing portfolio of technical online and hybrid learning initiatives. You will support academic units with the development of both non-credit and for-credit online and hybrid learning experiences. In addition to core design responsibilities, this role will support enhancing CAI's internal capacity for the intentional, responsible and pedagogically sound integration of AI and emerging educational technologies into courses and faculty-led projects.
With a focus on learner-centered design, this role will partner with design team colleagues and external partners to apply established practices and learning theories to the development of high-quality online courses. You will report to the Associate Director of Learning Experience Design and also work with the Director of Learning Design.
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Bachelor's degree in education, curriculum and instruction, learning sciences, instructional design, educational technology, or information science or an equivalent combination
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3-5 years of experience (or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience) in instructional computing, educational technology or instructional design
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Strong collaboration skills in a matrixed environment
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Working knowledge of how modern software systems are designed (APIs, services, data flows, cloud infrastructure)
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Demonstrated experience evaluating technical architectures and trade-offs proposed by vendors or internal teams
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Knowledge of tools for digital avatars, virtual and extended reality, custom chatbots, and AI modeling
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Exhibits a forward-thinking mindset by investigating emerging developments in learning innovation, such as generative AI, evaluating their potential, and identifying strategic opportunities for integration
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Experience in leveraging the use of AI and emerging technologies to most effectively support course goals and learning objectives
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Working knowledge of standards for online non-credit and for-credit course design, including copyright and accessibility
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Understanding of integrating learning theories, instructional design methods, and learner-centered design principles into online learning experiences
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Demonstrated expertise in applying a learner-centered approach to online course design
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Demonstrated expertise in assessing technical project outcomes and making recommendations for improvement and iteration
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Experience using online education platforms (e.g., Canvas, Coursera, and edX)
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Demonstrated initiative and customer service-oriented attitude
The work requirements allow both onsite and offsite work and an employee has an expected recurring onsite presence. On occasion, the employee may be required and must be available to work onsite more frequently if necessitated by unit leadership or their designee and/or the job requirements.
Please Note: This is a 5 year term limited position with the possibility of renewal depending on funding.
Candidates must have legal authorization to work in the United States.
This position is included in the bargaining unit represented by University Staff United, AFT Local 284, AFL-CIO, which represents Employees in all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
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.
The salary for this position will be based upon the selected candidate's education and experience.
Excellent benefits are available, for details, see https://hr.umich.edu/benefits-wellness
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.
Salary Information
The general salary range for this position is $75,000-$85,000. You can expect to be paid a great compensation package. 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 agreement and transparency throughout the recruiting process.
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.
Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. This job may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.
Applications will be reviewed as received throughout the posting period and continue until the position is filled.
The University of Michigan is an equal employment opportunity employer.
