Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Distance Learning Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Distance Learning Coordinator is the operational and pedagogical lead who plans, develops, implements, and continuously improves online and hybrid courses and programs. This role combines instructional design best practices, LMS administration, faculty and student support, quality assurance, and cross-functional project management to ensure engaging, accessible, and scalable distance education experiences. The ideal candidate is proficient with leading LMS platforms (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle), eLearning standards (SCORM, xAPI), accessibility standards (WCAG), and has strong communication and stakeholder-management skills.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Instructional Designer or eLearning Developer
Learning Technologist / LMS Administrator
Academic Advisor / Teaching Faculty with online course development experience

Advancement To:

Manager / Director of Online Learning
eLearning Program Manager or Head of Digital Education
Academic Affairs or Dean-level roles managing online programs and partnerships

Lateral Moves:

Senior Instructional Designer
Learning Analytics Specialist
Educational Technology Consultant

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the end-to-end design, development, and deployment of online and blended courses by coordinating instructional designers, subject matter experts, multimedia developers, and faculty to meet pedagogical objectives and institutional quality standards.
Administer and configure learning management systems (LMS) — such as Canvas, Blackboard, or Moodle — including course shells, role-based permissions, integrations, and term rollovers to ensure courses are published and accessible on schedule.
Serve as the primary point of contact for faculty support for online course delivery, conducting onboarding workshops, one-on-one consultations, and follow-up coaching to improve online teaching practices and use of LMS tools.
Develop and enforce online course quality assurance standards and checklists (including alignment to institutional rubrics, learning outcomes mapping, assessment integrity, and accessibility) and lead course review cycles to drive continuous improvement.
Oversee multimedia production and content conversion for online courses — coordinating video recording, editing, captioning, interactive activities, and SCORM/xAPI packaging — to create engaging and standards-compliant learning assets.
Ensure all online content meets accessibility and inclusive design standards (WCAG, captioning, transcripts, alternative text, accessible assessments), partnering with disability services and accessibility specialists to remediate issues.
Coordinate synchronous and asynchronous course scheduling, including virtual classroom sessions, proctoring logistics, live session technical support, and recording publication for on-demand access.
Monitor student engagement and retention metrics using learning analytics and LMS reporting; identify at-risk learners and collaborate with academic support, advising, and retention teams to implement interventions.
Manage course migrations and version control during LMS upgrades, vendor transitions, or content refresh projects, including data mapping, testing, and rollback plans to minimize disruption.
Develop, maintain, and deliver training materials, job aids, and how-to documentation for faculty, adjuncts, and staff that standardize course design, assessment practices, and LMS workflows.
Lead vendor selection, contract management, and vendor relationships for third-party tools and services (proctoring, content platforms, video hosting, assessment tools), ensuring integration and compliance with institutional policies.
Plan and coordinate pilot projects for new instructional technologies, micro-credentialing, or program delivery models; design evaluation metrics and pilot assessments and present findings to stakeholders.
Implement assessment integrity strategies for online assessments, including remote proctoring coordination, secure testing workflows, question bank management, and policy communication to faculty and students.
Manage budgets, procurements, and resource allocations for online program development and technology investments; prepare cost estimates, justify expenditures, and monitor vendor invoices and SLAs.
Coordinate accreditation and regulatory compliance activities for online programs by compiling documentation, responding to audit requests, and ensuring that online curriculum meets accreditation standards.
Create and analyze program-level reports on enrollment, course completion, student satisfaction, and learning outcomes to inform strategic decisions and continuous improvement initiatives.
Serve as liaison between academic departments, IT, marketing, registrar, and student services to coordinate campaigns for online program launches, enrollment processes, and student support workflows.
Maintain and optimize knowledge bases, FAQs, and ticketing workflows to triage faculty and student support requests efficiently and to reduce time-to-resolution for common LMS issues.
Facilitate communities of practice for online faculty, host best-practice webinars, and curate examples of high-quality online course design to elevate teaching performance across the institution.
Lead accessibility remediation projects, captioning workflows, and vendor relationships for transcription/captioning services to ensure compliance and timely delivery for course media.
Develop and implement retention, onboarding, and orientation programs tailored to online students to improve persistence, engagement, and satisfaction across distance programs.
Coordinate content licensing, copyright clearance, and proper attribution for publisher materials and open educational resources (OER) used in online courses, ensuring legal compliance and budget stewardship.
Troubleshoot complex cross-platform issues (LMS integrations, single sign-on, grade sync, SIS connections) and collaborate with IT to implement long-term fixes and preventive maintenance.
Design and maintain course templates, reusable modules, rubrics, and assessment item banks to speed course builds, preserve academic integrity, and improve consistency across online offerings.
Lead change management efforts related to shifts in online delivery models, communicate roadmaps and timelines to stakeholders, and provide adoption support and feedback channels.
Collect, synthesize, and present qualitative and quantitative feedback from students, faculty, and external partners to guide iterative improvements to course design, support models, and technology adoption.

Secondary Functions

Manage the online course request and prioritization process; coordinate timelines and resource assignments across instructional design and media teams.
Maintain versioned documentation and release notes for LMS updates, course template changes, and integration modifications.
Provide tier-2 technical support escalation for faculty and students when front-line helpdesk resources cannot resolve LMS or content issues.
Coordinate with marketing and enrollment teams to create online program landing pages, course descriptions, and promotional materials that accurately reflect learning outcomes and delivery format.
Support accessibility and compliance audits, produce remediation plans, and track completion of corrective actions.
Assist in scheduling and staffing of proctored exams and secure assessment windows across time zones for online students.
Maintain backups and archival processes for course content and assessment records in accordance with institutional retention policies.
Participate in procurement evaluations for educational technology, provide technical and pedagogical input during RFPs, and evaluate vendor demos.
Help coordinate faculty pay, stipends, or release time associated with course redesign and online teaching assignments.
Provide ad hoc reporting to institutional leaders on online program KPIs, course health, and faculty support metrics.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Learning Management System (LMS) administration (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle) — course build, user roles, integration setup, and troubleshooting.
Instructional design methodologies (ADDIE, Backward Design, Bloom’s Taxonomy) and experience applying them to online and blended learning.
eLearning standards and interoperability: SCORM, xAPI (Tin Can), LTI integrations, and gradebook/SIS synchronization.
Accessibility and universal design for learning (UDL) — WCAG compliance, captioning workflows, alt text, and accessible assessment design.
Video production and editing workflows (basic camera setup, screen capture, Camtasia, Adobe Premiere, or equivalent) and managing caption/transcription pipelines.
Learning analytics and reporting (LMS reports, Tableau, Power BI, Excel) to monitor engagement, interventions, and program performance.
Synchronous virtual classroom platforms and tools: Zoom, Microsoft Teams, BigBlueButton, and experience managing breakout rooms, polling, and recordings.
Content authoring tools and asset creation: Articulate Storyline/Rise, Adobe Captivate, H5P, and familiarity with multimedia optimization for web delivery.
Project management skills and tools (Jira, Asana, Trello, MS Project) to manage course build timelines and cross-functional deliverables.
Assessment design and integrity tools: question banks, randomized assessments, proctoring integrations, plagiarism detection (Turnitin, SafeAssign).
Basic web and content skills (HTML/CSS, responsive design principles) for minor LMS template edits and troubleshooting.
Knowledge of privacy, FERPA, and data security considerations specific to online learning environments.

Soft Skills

Clear, persuasive written and verbal communication for training, documentation, and stakeholder updates.
Strong instructional coaching and faculty development skills — able to translate pedagogy into practical online teaching behaviors.
Project coordination and multitasking with attention to deadlines and ability to prioritize competing requests.
Collaborative stakeholder management — works effectively with faculty, IT, student services, marketing, and vendors.
Problem-solving and technical troubleshooting mindset to diagnose and resolve cross-platform issues.
Empathy and student-centered orientation to design support strategies that improve retention and outcomes.
Attention to detail for quality assurance, rubric alignment, and compliance documentation.
Change management and facilitation skills to drive adoption of new technologies and processes.
Data-informed decision making — interprets analytics to recommend interventions and design changes.
Adaptability and continuous learning orientation to stay current with evolving online pedagogy and tools.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Education, Communications, Project Management, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Curriculum & Instruction, or Higher Education Administration.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Instructional Design / Educational Technology
Curriculum & Instruction / Pedagogy
Higher Education Administration
Educational Leadership
Computer Science / Web Technologies (for technical focus)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–5 years of progressively responsible experience in online course development, LMS administration, or instructional design for higher education, corporate training, or K-12 distance learning.

Preferred: 5+ years of direct experience coordinating online programs, demonstrated success managing LMS platforms, faculty development initiatives, multimedia course production, and measurable improvements in student engagement or course completion.