Student Hourly - Web Developer Job at The University of Kansas in Lawrence

Position Overview

The student web accessibility & migration assistant supports KU IT in moving departmental and faculty websites from legacy cPanel hosting into the university’s content management system (CMS) while improving accessibility and consistency. The primary focus is rebuilding sites in approved templates, ensuring pages meet KU web standards for structure, color contrast, headings, links, and alternative text, and remediating PDFs so they are accessible to screen readers. The student will also help resolve website issues submitted through the ticketing system, including accessibility‑related fixes, working with campus partners to understand problems, implement updates, and verify that changes meet usability and compliance expectations. Additional responsibilities may include content updates, link checking, PDF tagging, and documenting accessibility and migration work. This role is ideal for students interested in web design, front‑end development, or user experience with a strong emphasis on real‑world accessibility practice.

Job Description

55% – Website migration and accessibility

• Migrate websites from cPanel to the enterprise CMS using approved templates and components.
• Rebuild site structure, menus, and page layouts based on existing sites.
• Review pages for accessibility (headings, lists, link text, alt text, color contrast, and keyboard navigation).
• Fix basic accessibility issues identified during migration or review.

25% – Ticket‑based website and accessibility support

• Respond to web‑related tickets from campus partners, with particular attention to accessibility issues.
• Troubleshoot problems such as broken links, missing or incorrectly structured content, formatting problems, and minor layout bugs.
• Implement accessibility‑related fixes (e.g., correcting headings, adding alt text, improving link text, updating form labels).
• Coordinate with staff to clarify requests and confirm that updates meet their functional and accessibility needs.

15% – PDF accessibility and quality assurance

• Remediate PDFs for accessibility (tags, reading order, headings, alt text for meaningful images, bookmarks when appropriate).
• Run basic accessibility and link checks on migrated sites and documents.
• Test pages and documents for common issues and confirm that fixes are successful.

5% – Other related duties as assigned

• Assist with additional web content cleanup, accessibility projects, or small web initiatives as needed within KU IT’s web environment.

Required Qualifications

1. Ability to work approximately 10–20 hours per week during regular business hours.
2. Demonstrated attention to detail when editing web pages, links, and documents.
3. Demonstrated willingness to learn and follow technical procedures in new tools (e.g., CMS, ticketing system, file management tools).
4. Experience creating or editing content in common tools such as Word, Google Docs, or similar.
5. Demonstrated written and verbal communication skills for working with campus partners and documenting changes.
6. Ability to work independently, manage multiple tasks, and follow established standards and checklists.
7. Demonstrated interest in web content, accessibility, or user experience (through coursework, personal projects, or prior experience).

Preferred Qualifications

1. Experience using a web content management system (e.g., Drupal, WordPress, or similar).
2. Experience or knowledge working with HTML and web page structure (headings, lists, links, images).
3. Experience or coursework related to accessibility, UX, or web design.
4. Experience editing or creating accessible PDFs (tags, headings, reading order, alt text) using tools such as Adobe Acrobat.
5. Prior experience working in a ticketing or help desk environment, or similar customer service role.
6. Demonstrated ability to follow technical documentation, checklists, or standards with a high degree of accuracy.
7. Expressed interest in building a portfolio or gaining professional experience in web, accessibility, or front‑end work.

Position Requirements

During the semester term of the appointment, the student hourly must be enrolled in no fewer than 6 credit hours. For summer periods the student hourly must: (1) have been enrolled in no less than 6 hours in the past spring semester or (2) be pre‑enrolled in the upcoming fall semester in no less than 6 hours or (3) be enrolled in summer session or (4) be admitted to study in the upcoming fall semester. Student Hourlies may be undergraduate or graduate students. (Exceptions granted for GRA/GTA/GA appointments DO NOT apply to Student Hourly appointments).

Employment Conditions

Student employees are not eligible for remote work arrangements unless an exception is approved by the unit leadership and HR. (2) This is an hourly/non‑exempt position. A student employee cannot hold an hourly/non‑exempt position and a salaried/exempt graduate or undergraduate position (GRA/GTA/GA/RUA/RGA) concurrently.

Additional Candidate Instructions

1. A resume
2. A brief cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications and your interest in web accessibility and site migration
3. The names and contact information for at least 3 references (academic or professional)

Optional: If you have examples of web or accessibility‑related work (course projects, personal sites, etc.), you may include links or a short description in your cover letter.

Contact Information to Applicants

Jake Hammond – jake.hammond@ku.edu

Advertised Salary Range

$12/hr

Anticipated Start Date

Wednesday January 28, 2026