Peter Thiel, the superstar Silicon Valley investor, has famously dismissed university as a waste of time and money, and even offered students cash to drop out.

But his views apparently do not apply to himself - or to Stanford University.

Thiel, 44, will teach at the elite university this spring, sharing pearls of entrepreneurial wisdom in a class called “Computer Science 183: Startup.” The course is already oversubscribed, with Thiel’s return to his alma mater sparking both enthusiasm and skepticism on a campus increasingly obsessed with start-up success.