OP here. Was out of town. My, who would have thought this would touch so many nerves?
I don’t believe the professor is lazy in general, though he might not be experienced in this area. He assigned a book/paper for the class that wasn’t specifically about comp sci (creating extra work for himself), and required all students to come to office hours at least once so he could get to know each one at least a little bit. To me, that doesn’t seem like a disinterested or lazy teacher. His response did indicate that this is how he typically creates recommendation letters, not that it was because of the type requested. I’m wondering if perhaps he gets requests for a variety of types of recommendations, because the university serves a wide variety of students, and he wants to highlight what is most helpful for each situation, be it a job application or an academic program. But maybe I’m projecting.
This was not one of the initially required letters of recommendation. Contacted school about separate issue and admissions counselor immediately picked up on the aspect of the high school counselor rec, which he thought might not be very informative. (D does meet weekly with high school counselor as a requirement for taking all the off campus courses, so the counselor probably knows her better than most of the students in the school, though for a short time.) D found out about letter suggestion during finals week and waited until final exams and holidays were done out of respect for professor’s time and personal life. She did offer to meet with him to discuss her goals, etc. She recognized he might not have time to write letter and addressed that in initial request.
Aside from any ethical issues, about which there has been debate, on a practical level D doesn’t think a letter she drafts would add any new insight about her to the admissions committee. How can a high school senior realistically assess her strengths in context of a diverse university setting?
She contacted admissions office for advice; they agreed a letter composed by her wouldn’t shed additional light. She contacted professor to say thanks, but what he proposes won’t be needed, and that she is looking forward to this semester’s course with him.