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In their lively and entertaining weekly discussion of issues related to higher education, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger explore the topics of higher education, lifelong learning, and exercising the brain. Ed and Jennifer practice what they preach, too, by introducing math puzzlers and brain teasers to keep listeners on their toes.

Higher Ed: A+ or D- for Letter Grades?

A Higher Ed listener emailed in asking about letter grades: are they good? Bad? Do they hinder students' desire to take classes that might be interesting but challenging, too? In this week's episode of KUT's podcast Higher Ed, KUT's Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger talk about the impact letter grades can have on how we experience and approach our formal education.

Imagine what school might be like without grades. Or if students were given the time to master a subject rather than be evaluated on it at pre-set time intervals? Click here to hear Ed and Jennifer further discuss the utility of letter grades and possible alternatives to those A's, B's, C's, D's, and F's. It won't be graded, but see how you do with this week's new puzzler. Hint: a pair of sunglasses might help!

This episode was recorded on November 18, 2015.

For all of the Higher Ed episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on itunes here!

Jennifer Stayton is the local host for NPR's "Morning Edition" on KUT. Got a tip? Email her at jstayton@kut.org. Follow her on X @jenstayton.