Graduate Research Assistant - Online Learning Innovation and User Experience

The University of Texas at Austin; Utah; On-site; USD 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Texas at Austin invites applications for a Graduate Research Assistant in Online Learning Innovation and User Experience within the School of Nursing.

This 20-hour-per-week role supports the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative online course materials, collaborating with faculty, instructional designers, and technology staff to improve usability and learner experience.

Qualifications

• Enrollment in a graduate program
• Strong interest in online education, instructional design, or educational technology
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work independently while collaborating with faculty, staff, and students
• Ability to learn new technologies and troubleshoot routine technical issues
• Experience using learning management systems or comparable digital platforms

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with faculty to translate course content into effective online learning experiences.
• Review online courses and suggest improvements to navigation and presentation.
• Build and revise course pages, modules, assignments, assessments, and multimedia resources within the LMS.
• Apply consistent design standards across courses for intuitive materials.
• Incorporate active-learning strategies, simulations, and interactive content.
• Assist with evaluating usability, accessibility, and learner outcomes of redesigned materials.
• Ensure accessibility, copyright compliance, and branding across materials.
• Create templates and guides for faculty to maintain content.
• Document design decisions and evaluation findings for continuous improvement.
• Contribute to presentations, reports, and scholarly outputs.
• Develop and produce quarterly newsletters and related communications.
• Identify content related to center activities, research, and partnerships.
• Draft, edit, format, and ensure accessibility of newsletter content.
• Create newsletter layouts aligned with branding.
• Maintain editorial calendars and distribution lists.
• Monitor engagement metrics and suggest improvements.
• Maintain and update the center website with current information.
• Post news items and research highlights; review pages for outdated content.
• Improve navigation, readability, accessibility, and visual consistency.
• Collaborate on substantive website changes with leadership and IT.
• Optimize content for search visibility and monitor analytics.
• Ensure branding, privacy, and accessibility compliance.

Skills

Graduate student

Online education interest

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Independent work

Learning new technologies

Experience with LMS

Education

Enrollment in a graduate program

Tools

Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Job description

Job Posting Title: Graduate Research Assistant - Online Learning Innovation and User Experience

Hiring Department: School of Nursing

Position Open To: All Applicants

Weekly Scheduled Hours: 20

FLSA Status: Exempt from FLSA

Earliest Start Date: Immediately

Position Duration: Expected to Continue Until Aug 31, 2027

Location: UT MAIN CAMPUS

Job Details: Purpose

The School of Nursing seeks a Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative online course materials. The GRA will collaborate with faculty, instructional designers, and technology staff to improve the usability, accessibility, visual consistency, and learner experience of online courses. The ideal candidate will combine an interest in education and technology with strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills. This position offers experience in instructional innovation, user-centered design, educational technology, and the evaluation of online learning approaches. This is a 20-hour-per-week graduate research assistantship for Spring and Summer 2027. The position will be supervised by Jacki Hecht, MSN. Appointment and compensation will follow university policies and are contingent upon eligibility, satisfactory academic progress, and extended appointment contingent on availability of funding.

Responsibilities

Online Course Development and User Experience

• Collaborate with faculty to translate course content and learning objectives into effective online learning experiences.
• Review online courses and recommend improvements to navigation, organization, visual presentation, and overall user experience.
• Build and revise course pages, modules, assignments, assessments, discussion activities, and multimedia resources within the learning management system.
• Apply consistent design standards across courses to make materials intuitive, engaging, and easy to use.
• Incorporate active-learning strategies, simulations, case studies, interactive exercises, and other technology-enhanced learning approaches.
• Assist with evaluating the usability, accessibility, effectiveness, and student outcomes associated with redesigned course materials.
• Ensure that course materials follow accessibility standards, copyright requirements, university policies, and best practices for inclusive online education.
• Create templates, guides, and other resources that faculty can use to develop and maintain online course content.
• Document design decisions, implementation processes, evaluation findings, and recommendations for continued improvement.
• Contribute to presentations, reports, manuscripts, conference abstracts, and other scholarly products arising from the project.

Newsletter Development and Digital Communications

• Develop and produce the center’s quarterly electronic newsletters in collaboration with center leadership and faculty.
• Identify and organize content related to center activities, research accomplishments, faculty and student highlights, upcoming events, funding opportunities, and community partnerships.
• Draft, edit, proofread, and format newsletter content for accuracy, clarity, consistency, and audience engagement.
• Create visually engaging newsletter layouts that are consistent with university and center branding.
• Maintain an editorial calendar and production schedule to support the timely distribution of newsletters and announcements.
• Manage newsletter distribution lists and assist with electronic distribution.
• Monitor newsletter engagement metrics, such as open rates and link activity, and recommend strategies to improve audience reach and engagement.
• Ensure that newsletters meet applicable accessibility, privacy, branding, and copyright requirements.

Center Website Maintenance

• Maintain and regularly update the center’s website with current and accurate information.
• Post news items, research highlights, events, publications, faculty and affiliate profiles, funding opportunities, and other center-related content.
• Review website pages for outdated information, broken links, inconsistent formatting, and usability concerns.
• Improve website navigation, organization, readability, accessibility, and visual consistency.
• Collaborate with center leadership and university communications or information technology staff on substantive website changes.
• Optimize web content for clarity, accessibility, and appropriate search-engine visibility.
• Monitor basic website analytics and prepare summaries of visitor activity, frequently accessed content, and opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain organized digital files, images, permissions, and source materials used on the website.
• Follow university policies and standards related to web accessibility, branding, privacy, security, and content management.

Required Qualifications

• Enrollment in a graduate program at The University of Texas at Austin.
• Strong interest in online education, instructional design, educational technology, user experience, or digital innovation.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with faculty, staff, and students.
• Ability to learn new technologies and troubleshoot routine technical issues.
• Experience using learning management systems or comparable digital platforms.

Preferred Qualifications

• Graduate study in nursing, education, instructional design, information science, learning technologies, computer science, communication, or a related field.
• Experience developing or revising online courses in Canvas or another learning management system.
• Experience maintaining websites using WordPress or another content-management system.
• Experience creating electronic newsletters using platforms such as Mailchimp, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Constant Contact, or comparable software.
• Familiarity with user-interface and user-experience design principles.
• Experience with multimedia, interactive-content, web-design, or graphic-design tools.
• Knowledge of accessibility standards and universal design for learning.
• Experience conducting usability testing, surveys, interviews, focus groups, or qualitative or quantitative data analysis.
• Familiarity with artificial intelligence tools and their responsible application in teaching and learning.
• Experience supporting faculty or learners in higher education.

Salary Range $60,000 annual (prorated to academic calendar work dates and hours per week)

Required Materials

• Resume/CV
• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Employment Eligibility

Please confirm your eligibility for this position here.

Retirement Plan Eligibility

Students in this position may choose to enroll in the UTSaver voluntary retirement programs.

Background Checks

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Pay Transparency

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information.

Employment Eligibility Verification

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

E-Verify

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university’s company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following: E-Verify Poster (English and Spanish) [PDF] Right to Work Poster (English) [PDF] Right to Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

Compliance

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) ... You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.

Start Here, Change the World At The University of Texas at Austin, tradition meets innovation in the heart of a city that frequents lists of the best places to live and work. Named by Forbes as one of America's Best Large Employers for the sixth year in a row in 2025, UT offers both a dynamic work environment and a gateway to vibrant local culture. Whether you're at the forefront of the student experience, conducting world-changing research or supporting the engine that drives Texas’ flagship university, working at UT means making a lasting impact on our city, our state and our world. Our more than 20,000 faculty and staff empower 55,000+ students to challenge ideas, pursue passions and shape their futures. Joining UT, you’ll become part of a community dedicated to making a meaningful impact on campus and throughout the world.

Comments and Inquiries: Email comments to [e-mail]. For questions or concerns regarding equal opportunity only, contact Equal Opportunity Services. Additional information for applicants can be found on the Human Resources web page: Applying for Employment. For more job information, call the Human Resource Service Center at [phone], or toll-free at [phone]. UT Austin is a Tobacco-free Campus