Quality is a commitment. Implementation is the hard part.
Practice Learning provides fractional quality assurance leadership, standards consulting, and professional development design for institutions that are serious about quality, and need the expertise to make it work.
The gap between commitment and implementation is where quality stalls.
Institutions invest in quality frameworks like Quality Matters, OSCQR, NSQ, OLC, and others. The frameworks are solid. What stalls is the implementation: no one owns the coordination, faculty support is uneven, and the work of building a culture of quality never quite gets done.Practice Learning fills that gap. Whether you need fractional leadership to operationalize a quality system, consulting to design standards that fit your specific context, or help building the professional development infrastructure that makes quality sustainable — this is exactly what we do.
What Practice Learning offers
Fractional Quality Assurance Officer
WHAT WE DO:
Ongoing, embedded quality assurance leadership for institutions that need day-to-day management of their quality framework — without the overhead of a full-time hire.WHAT IS COVERED:
• Operationalization of QM, OSCQR, NSQ, OLC, or other quality frameworks
• Coordination of course review and quality improvement cycles
• Faculty support and quality coaching
• Reporting, tracking, and documentation of quality outcomes
• Strategic alignment between academic quality and institutional goalsWHO WE SERVE:
Colleges and universities — including community colleges and open access institutions — where quality coordination falls to someone already stretched thin, or where the role does not yet exist, or where the budget will not cover an additional hire.
Quality Standards Consulting
WHAT WE DO:
Expert consulting for institutions designing, building, improving, or implementing quality standards and evaluation criteria — for any learning or training context, not just online courses.WHAT IS COVERED:
• Custom design and development of quality standards and rubrics
• Evaluation framework improvement and alignment
• Implementation planning for new or revised quality systems
• Audit and gap analysis against existing frameworks
• Application to online learning, workforce development, continuing education, and moreWHO WE SERVE:
Institutions, organizations, and programs that need a quality framework built or refined — and the expertise to implement it in ways that actually stick.
Professional Development Consulting
WHAT WE DO:
Consulting for the design, development, and implementation planning of institutional professional development academies — the infrastructure that makes quality improvement sustainable long-term.WHAT IS COVERED:
• Professional Development academy/institute design and curriculum architecture
• Faculty and staff development program planning
• Stackable credential and badging frameworks
• Alignment of PD programming with quality standards
• Implementation roadmaps and change management supportWHO WE SERVE:
Institutions building or scaling a PD academy who need a consultant with both the instructional design expertise and the quality standards background to ensure the programming is rigorous, sustainable, and aligned.
Why Practice Learning
Practice Learning is led by Brenda Boyd, M.S. — a quality standards and digital learning expert with 25 years of experience in higher education, and the specific background institutions need when the work is quality standards development, implementation, and professional development design.Brenda spent 14 years in senior leadership at Quality Matters, where she led multiple inter-institutional teams to create three updated editions of the Quality Matters standards over a decade — shaping the frameworks that institutions across the country use to evaluate and improve their online and digital courses.Practice Learning is built on a simple belief: quality is not a destination. It is a practice. And every institution — regardless of size, resources, or where they are in their quality journey — deserves a partner with the expertise to help them get there.
Brenda Boyd, M.S.
FounderFormer Quality Matters roles:
* VP of Quality Standards and Evaluation
* VP of Program Services
* Director of Professional Development
Stewarded three editions of the Quality Matters Rubric over a decade — including the history, rationale, and evolution behind each standard
Led quality standards design, development, and evaluation at the organizational level
Built and directed professional development programming for faculty and instructional staff
Experienced with QM, OSCQR, OLC, and broader quality evaluation frameworks across institutional contexts
25 years in higher education spanning online learning, digital learning strategy, and academic quality improvement
The expertise we offer is in standards development, quality evaluation, and implementation; not in the subject-matter content of any particular discipline or emerging area. Whether the work involves micro-credentials, AI in learning design, competency-based education, or bespoke course development, Practice Learning brings the standards expertise. You bring the content knowledge. Together, that is where quality implementation becomes part of integrated systems.
The quality standards landscape is changing fast.
Institutions and districts are navigating a wave of new quality challenges: the emergence of micro-credentials and digital badges, the rapid integration of AI into course design and delivery, the growth of competency-based education, and increasing demand for customized and bespoke learning experiences. Each of these areas requires rigorous quality standards — and most institutions are building those standards under pressure, without the dedicated expertise to do it well.Practice Learning exists precisely for this moment.
Who we work with
Practice Learning works primarily with small and mid-sized colleges and universities, including community colleges, open access institutions, school districts and regional four-year institution, where quality improvement is a real priority but dedicated capacity is hard to sustain.Our clients are typically:
• Deans of Online Learning and Distance Education
• VPs and Directors of Academic Affairs
• Directors of Faculty Development and Professional Learning
• Provosts and academic leaders at community collegesIf you are trying to build something sustainable, not just meet a compliance requirement, we are probably a good fit.
Let's talk about what quality looks like at your institution.
A discovery call is 30 minutes, free, and focused entirely on whether and how Practice Learning can help. No pitch, no pressure — just a real conversation about where you are and what you need.
Practice Learning LLC | Brenda Boyd, M.S. | [email protected]