The Teaching Company is an American company that produces recordings of lectures by nationally top-ranked university professors. The professors create courses for the company in a special studio located outside of Washington DC; they are then offered for sale in audiotape, CD, VHS, DVD, MPEG-4, and MP3 formats. The company was founded in 1990 by Thomas M. Rollins, former Chief Counsel of the United States Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources and a graduate of Harvard Law School, who noticed the effectiveness of videotapes in learning during his study. He initially tried to create a government program to produce tapes for the public, but due to Constitutional constraints was not able to. After leaving office the idea stayed with him and he started a commercial business, seeking out top professors to create courses for sale to the public. As of 2006, the company offers over 200 courses in the following areas: Fine Arts, History, Science, Mathematics, Literature, English Language, Philosophy, Religion, Social Science, Business, and Economics. Course offerings are targeted to adult education and life-learners, typical of what would be seen in a University or College undergraduate program for non-majors; there is also a series for high school students. Courses include supplemental booklets with outlines of the individual lectures, recommened reading lists, general bibliographies, and questions to consider. Full printed transcripts are also available.