The Great Courses

Horrible Customer Service; issues remain unresolved.

While the courses themselves provide reasonable content that is enjoyable and educational---the customer service is atrocious and is bad enough for me to not to return as a customer.

In the past week---I spoke to CS several times to correct an order that was not accurate; they confirmed they cancelled the order, but sent it anyway and then charged my card. Another order arrived damaged, but they have refused to resolve per their guarantee.

Great Courses CS refused to resolve---though they keep relating that it takes two weeks for management to give me a call back--it has been two weeks and no one has called. The CS I have spoken to, have been rude---talked over me---and argumentative. These are well documented calls...and to be honest, my impression they don't care. I refused to buy again---especially at their higher prices. I can find the same products on EBAY for a fraction of the cost.

I've bought a lot of history, philosophy and economics courses over the years; they've all provided pretty close to a full semester's worth of lectures. Wish they were a bit longer per class to get into a bit more detail. The subject matter is broken out well for each lecture.

The course guides are great; no need to not down the titles of books to delve deeper. Sets and editing are very good.

Never had a billing problem in year's of purchases.

Professors have a slight political tilt either right or left, but nowhere near the point of pontificating of forcing their outlook on you. They have a deep understanding of their topic.

With nearly no instructors of color and a hefty list of uninspired titles, this might have seemed academically rigorous 30 years ago. Today, it is an outdated vestige of the Eurocentric model of education, lacking in relevance or modern-day usefulness. I used to love these as a kid decades ago, and after trying it again a couple years ago, I cancelled well before the end of my free trial. When I wrote them as to why (the above, essentially), they essentially said there were no qualified teachers of color. Just wow.
This platform is worthless: just a tired regurgitation of the past with no connection to the present or future. I should also note many of the videos are the same from my long ago childhood, which is to say grainy and low quality.

Purchased in January with multiple courses for my wife and I. They changed the website and now you can't access your courses or accounts. Doesn't recognize our email, name, phone number or even the order number. No answer on ANY avenue of contact with customer service.

Beware when you order sale merchandise. I placed the order which of course showed the price I was paying. When I received my credit card statement they billed me the full price. The customer service reps were nice and I was credited back the difference. But I think about those who do not check their bills closely. We are talking $500+ difference!

I have gone through 3 courses so far and intend on continuing to learn things that I did not learn in school. The professors are interesting to listen to as they cover their field of studies and expertise.

The Teaching Company was founded in 1990 and their early courses were recorded by professors sound like they're actually addressing a classroom full of students. They sounded natural and were easy to listen to. Around the 2010s, they began "doing business as" The Great Courses. Around the same time, something else changed. More and more, the lecturers began to sound flat and mechanical. Instead of flowing naturally, it sounds as if they're reading off cue cards. It's so much the case that I have to assume it was a conscious, deliberate decision by the company. Why they would want that is beyond me, unless they just are taking a "Wonder Bread" approach of appealing to the broadest market by creating a bland product.

Also, Deepak Chopra teaching on The Nature of Reality?
Are you kidding me?

This is definitely not a course for beginners! I am not a beginner piano player... just wanted to learn some theory and use the course as a "refresher" after a long time away from the piano. I found the terminology, new to me, confusing and not explained that well. The workbook was not that helpful. The video is not clear when showing the professor playing - hard to tell what keys she is on. If you have played an instrument previously, you could understand music scores but if not you would be lost.

My uncle died and had 10 of these courses still packaged so I returned them - they promise a lifetime guarantee or 1 year return for any reason. They were still boxed! They refused to accept the returns saying that the guarantee was personal to my late uncle and the would not issue a refund. Disgraceful.

I recommend this course to everyone who is interested in the nature of dictatorship and democracy. The lecturer has an in-depth knowledge of the subject-matter with great insights and crystal clear conclusions.
He lectures in an engaging, easy to understand style. I lived through the Nazi era and the Soviet dictatorship in Hungary before I came to the US -- and felt I learned a lot from this lecture. Wonderful lecture series.

I am slowly slogging through "Experiencing Shakespeare: From Page to Stage".
While some of the information is interesting ( certainly not profound) … I am amazed that the author ( Alissa Branch) is dressed in an outfit more appropriate for a teenager with low self esteem. Is Great Courses requiring a high libido to substitute for low content in their current curriculum?

The great course I would like to discuss is the great course on understanding the quantum world, quantum mechanics is something that I have been researching for a good while now and a great deal of the information does align with that research, there's way too much personal opinion though, based not on scientific fact but opinion, especially in regards to consciousness and its relation to quantum affects. They have a physicist, explaining quantum mechanics from a physicists point of view, physicists have been trying to cut down quantum mechanics since it was discovered. I am disappointed to see that in general, that category of scientists have not learned to put down their own egos down in order to work with the facts that have been collected from repeated and peer reviewed experimentation. Now I have gotten quite a few other great courses, and I may leave better reviews for those as I move through them but so far understanding the Quantum World just strikes me as another salvo launched from the "all that matters is matter" crowd scientist still don't understand consciousness, where it comes from or how it affects the universe around us. I would give this a lower score. But other then the above mentioned issue the presenter has been engaging, the visuals appealing, and the books wording easy to digest. So that leaves me at a 3. Please scientists…. Stop acting like politicians.

In February of 2023, I ordered a Course (DVD and book). It was my first time dealing with this company and one of the incentives for me was their 365-day money back guarantee. The purchase was practically risk-free. Because the course was not what I envisioned, I returned it (via USPS, with tracking) and it was delivered to them on May 22,2023. Initially, they told me the refund process would be about 3 weeks. Then, it was 4 to 6 weeks. The latest is that it's 6 to 8 weeks. The reason they gave is that they are migrating their database. But, suspiciously, the migration process isn't affecting their INcoming orders, only their OUTgoing refunds. So, 8 weeks after my return was delivered to them (as proven so by USPS tracking), I'm still waiting for a refund. And each time I call them (because emails do not get responded to for days - and I can prove that as well) to ask about the status, there is an excruciating long wait time (average is about 16-23 minutes on hold). As stated, this was my first purchase from The Great Courses - and probably my last. 365-Day Money Back Guarantee? Sounds good in theory but fails miserably in practice.

Surprised at some of the negative views. Some complain about one course snd then expand the comment to imply it reflects all the courses. Even though we know they haven't watched more than a few. Either sloppy expression or sloppy thinking. I've been impressed with the presenters' skills, knowledge and support visuals where appropriate. I have 13 of their courses.

Hoping to learn about history and science, I bought several. You cannot imagine how boring all of them are: No effort whatsoever illustrating motivating the topic. Just imagine someone reading from a screen at a fast speed and often with a speech impediment. Of course, all the presenters are introduced as professors with a PhD degree, which means nothing. Also, all series are even produced in the same room with simply a green background. Yes, this company is a money making machine disregarding the responsibility with its customers and should be brought to justice. All my purchase were sent to the garbage can.

Be wary of this company. Don't use any promo codes and make sure you know exactly what you're getting into with them. They bill your credit card or bank account and never give you a receipt or email about any subscription.

I have been buying courses from them for the past 15 years. Primarily, history, literature, and philosophy, political science. Most of the courses were pretty good. But, I have noticed that professors were starting to inject political views in their courses a while back. Nowadays, practically every course is heavily biased towards the political correctness/woke side of the spectrum. One of the courses is blatant/in your face propaganda from 3 professors who work for an NGO backed by Soros and Gates... The name of the course is "Fighting Disinformation". Oh, the irony! What were they thinking? So for me, the Great Courses are over. Will never buy from them again.