<p>Cobrat: Not entirely true. It really depends on the nature of the graduate program. You are making the assumption, contrary to what the OP said, that the course is designed for the professor to be “hands off”. If this is a terminal mater’s program, it may not be research or project oriented and may well be information-driven. There is also no evidence that the professor is offering office hours to go over the material. If that were the case, why miss all those classes?</p>