Star teachers only on video or cassette

The Teaching Company in the States publishes videos and cassettes of the best university lecturers - chosen by referring to the rating given to lecturers by students in the Student Evaluation Guidebooks of the major universities. 'Too often,' they say, 'college students are disappointed to find that the most famous names on the faculty are mediocre and boring in the classroom, but at every major university there are always some professors who have a special gift for lecturing.' Courses offered (at prices from $89 for a cassette to $149 for a video) include 'Poetry - A Basic Course', 'A History of Hitler's Empire' and 'Cosmic Questions - Astronomy from Quark to Quasar'.

Perhaps a similar venture would succeed in the UK.

The Teaching Company, PO Box 3370, Dubuque, IA 52004, USA (tel 1 8090 832 2412; fax 1 319 582 2003).