The Teaching Company
The Great Courses (TGC) is a series of college-level audio and video courses produced and distributed by The Teaching Company (TTC), a Chantilly, Virginia company, via mobile and tablet apps,[1][2][3] CD, DVD, or MP3 and MPEG-4 download formats, and streaming media.[4]
Background
The company was founded in 1990 by Thomas M. Rollins, former Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources.[5] Rollins had been inspired by a 10-hour videotaped lecture series he watched while at Harvard Law School, and began recruiting top professors and experts based almost entirely on customer feedback.[6] As of 2014, the company offers over 500 courses ranging in length from six lectures to over ninety lectures in several subject categories: business, economics, fine arts, music, ancient and medieval history, modern history, literature and English language, philosophy and intellectual history, religion, science, mathematics, social sciences, professional development and better living.[7]
Course offerings are targeted to adult lifelong learners; there is also a series for high school students. Courses are not verbatim recordings of college lectures, but rather are developed by The Teaching Company in conjunction with the professor to fit the chosen medium. Video versions of courses include graphics and green screen effects. Courses also include supplemental booklets with outlines of the individual lectures, recommended reading lists, general bibliographies, and questions to consider. Full printed transcripts are also available.[7]
In 2012, the company produced the first of several cooking courses in partnership with The Culinary Institute of America, and announced an expansion of that partnership in 2013.[8] In 2014, the company announced a partnership with The National Geographic Society to jointly produce courses on photography and expedition travel[clarification needed],[9] and a ten year partnership with The Smithsonian to produce new courses on History, Science, Travel and the Arts.[10]
Courses are available for online video and audio streaming or may be purchased in many formats including CD, DVD, audio and video downloads, and verbatim transcript books.[7] The company also offers more than 350 audio versions of The Great Courses to Audible.com subscribers,[11] and has made its first video titles available to Netflix subscribers.[12]
On October 2, 2006, the company was acquired by Brentwood Associates, a private equity investment firm.[6][13]
Partial list of notable instructors
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2013) |
Footnotes
- ^ The Great Courses app for iPad on iTunes, Apple, July 30, 2013, retrieved 2013-07-31
- ^ The Great Courses app for iPhone on iTunes, Apple, December 30, 2013, retrieved 2013-12-30
- ^ The Great Courses app on Google Play, Google, July 31, 2013, retrieved 2013-07-31
- ^ . "CrunchBase: The Teaching Company". TechCrunch. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
- ^ Bales, Kate (February 16, 1994). "Ivy League Courses for Price of a Video". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-21. [dead link]
- ^ a b Max, Sarah (July 29, 2013). "If Its Customers Love a Business, This Equity Firm Does, Too". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
- ^ a b c
The Great Courses website, The Teaching Company, July 01, 2014, retrieved 2014-07-01
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "The Great Courses Launches Comprehensive Cooking Curriculum in Partnership with The Culinary Institute of America" (Press release). Business Wire. 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
- ^ "National Geographic and The Great Courses Create Content and Distribution Partnership" (Press release). Business Wire. 2014-01-21. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
- ^ "The Smithsonian and The Great Courses Partner for New Series of Lectures Spanning History, Science, Travel and the Arts" (Press release). Smithsonian. 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
- ^ "Audible Establishes Partnership with The Great Courses from The Teaching Company" (Press release). Business Wire. 2013-07-09. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
- ^ "The Great Courses Launches 'The Inexplicable Universe' with Neil deGrasse Tyson on Netflix" (Press release). Business Wire. 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
- ^ "Brentwood Associates Acquires The Teaching Company L.P." (Press release). Business Wire. 2006-10-02. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
References
- Linda Mathews (1996-03-31). "Adult Education; No Tests and You Can Hit Rewind". New York Times.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Kendra Nordin (2003-01-28). "From the college lecture hall to your headphones". Christian Science Monitor.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - Sarah Max (2013-07-29). "If Its Customers Love a Business, This Equity Firm Does, Too". New York Times.
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