The Misunderstood Profession: The Silent Struggle Behind The Screens
If you're an Instructional Designer (ID), you've probably heard some version of this before:
"I already have my PowerPoints done. Can you make them look nice?"
"You're the tech person, right?"
"I know my students, so I'll just decide how the course should be built."
These phrases seem harmless, but they reveal a deeper issue in higher education and corporate learning alike: many people still don't understand what Instructional Designers actually do.
Instructional Design as a profession is often mistaken for graphic design, tech support, or digital formatting. But it's not about making slides look pretty; it's about architecting how people learn. When that expertise is misunderstood or dismissed, the entire learning experience suffers.
Why The Misunderstanding Exists
Instructional Design as a profession lives at the intersection of teaching, technology, and psychology, fields that rarely overlap naturally. Instructional Designers translate research into experience, theory into engagement, and content into outcomes. But here's the problem: when Instructional Design is invisible, it's easy to underestimate. Several factors contribute to this ongoing misunderstanding:
- The work is behind the scenes.
When a course runs smoothly, few people think about why. If the LMS is intuitive, the assessments are aligned, and the navigation is seamless, it feels effortless, which means the designer's contribution often goes unnoticed. - Job titles vary wildly.
"Learning technologist," "course developer," "designer," "consultant," "specialist," these titles sound similar but carry different responsibilities across institutions. Without consistent role definitions, everyone assumes IDs "do a little of everything." - Faculty aren't trained in learning science.
Most instructors know their subject deeply, but haven't studied how people learn in digital spaces. That gap often leads to a "just upload my content" mentality, rather than co-designing for engagement and accessibility. - Organizational hierarchies reinforce confusion.
Instructional Designers are too often placed under IT or administrative umbrellas rather than academic units, making it harder to be seen as equal partners in course quality.
The result? Instructional Design is a profession that's vital but undervalued. Often consulted too late, included too little, and asked to fix problems they weren't empowered to prevent.
How Boundary Overstepping Shows Up
When people don't fully understand Instructional Design, they overstep boundaries, often without realizing it.
- Faculty bypasses design guidance.
They insist on layouts or assessments that ignore accessibility, cognitive load, or Quality Matters standards. - Administrators misuse design time.
They pile on last-minute requests ("just add this compliance module") without understanding the workload or impact. - Leaders reduce IDs to support staff.
Designers get pulled into LMS troubleshooting or caption editing, rather than focusing on pedagogy and experience design.
Over time, this erodes morale and damages relationships. Instructional Designers stop feeling like educators and start feeling like button-pushers. However, this isn't about blame. Most of these oversteps come from unawareness, not arrogance. People can't respect what they don't understand.
What's Actually At Stake
Misunderstanding Instructional Design doesn't just frustrate designers; it weakens the institution. When ID expertise isn't valued:
- Course quality becomes inconsistent.
- Faculty workloads increase unnecessarily.
- Students encounter confusing, inaccessible learning environments.
- Innovation stagnates.
Instructional Design isn't a luxury; it's an insurance policy against poor pedagogy. Every hour of design saves dozens of hours in student confusion, technical errors, and grading headaches later.
From "Helper" To "Collaborator": Redefining The Relationship
It's time to shift how institutions view Instructional Design, from a service function to a strategic partnership. Here's what that looks like in practice:
Traditional View
- Faculty deliver content; designers format it.
- Designers are "tech people."
- Designers join projects late.
- Design is task-based.
Collaborative View
- Faculty and designers co-design outcomes, assessments, and the learning flow.
- Designers are learning architects grounded in cognitive science.
- Designers are embedded at the planning stage, shaping structure and flow.
- Design is outcome-based.
When Instructional Design is treated as a strategy rather than a service, everyone benefits. Faculty gain pedagogical partners. Students get richer, more equitable learning experiences. Institutions see stronger course evaluations, retention, and scalability.
How Instructional Designers Can Protect Their Professional Boundaries
Respect doesn't happen by accident; it's earned by design. Instructional Designers can (and should) take proactive steps to define their professional boundaries while keeping collaboration positive.
Clarify Roles Early
At the project kickoff, define who owns what: learning objectives, assessment decisions, and content delivery. Use a simple RACI matrix (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) to outline expectations.
Document The Process
A written workflow or course development agreement sets timelines and boundaries. It turns subjective requests into clear deliverables.
Educate Diplomatically
When someone oversteps, respond with a teaching mindset: "That approach could make the course less accessible, here's why, and how we can fix it." Professional patience reinforces authority without confrontation.
Track Your Impact
Collect data on course improvements, student feedback, and time savings. Nothing earns respect like measurable evidence.
Advocate Upward
Share success stories with leadership. Advocate for representation in curriculum committees, technology decisions, and strategic planning.
How Institutions Can Fix It
Administrators and leaders play a crucial role in legitimizing Instructional Design as a profession.
1. Standardize Roles And Titles
Clarify what "Instructional Designer" means at your institution and align job descriptions to recognized competencies (e.g., those from the Learning Guild or Educause)
2. Include IDs In Governance And Decision-Making
If you're discussing online learning quality, course policy, or AI integration, Instructional Designers must be in the room.
3. Invest In Continuous Development
Support professional memberships, certifications, and conference attendance. Designers who grow, stay.
4. Build Visibility
Showcase Instructional Design wins at faculty meetings, newsletters, and leadership reports. Recognition builds respect.
5. Measure And Celebrate Course Quality Outcomes
Tie Instructional Design metrics, like accessibility compliance or engagement increases, to institutional goals. It turns "nice to have" into "need to have."
The Future Of The Profession: Visibility Equals Value
Instructional Design is now mission-critical in higher education. The rapid adoption of AI, adaptive learning, and micro-credentialing has made learning architecture more complex than ever. Institutions that still see designers as "support" are falling behind. Tomorrow's best institutions will:
- Integrate Instructional Design into every new program launch.
- Position IDs as strategic partners in innovation and faculty success.
- Recognize design expertise as equal in importance to subject-matter expertise.
When that happens, Instructional Designers won't have to fight for visibility; their impact will be self-evident.
Conclusion
Instructional Designers don't want applause; they want partnership. They want their expertise recognized as part of the learning equation, not an afterthought. So, the next time someone hands over a stack of slides and says, "Just make it look good," maybe the better invitation is: "Let's make it work better, together."
