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<p>Very good points.</p>
<p>I would also ask the student if there are TAs with office hours. If the student is learning primarily from the book and runs into difficulty with a particular topic, it would be helpful to have an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the material with someone knowledgeable.</p>
<p>When I was in college, several departments were experimenting with eliminating the lectures altogether for some courses and setting up a learning center with instructors on duty for many hours a week instead. There were some organized activities – labs, discussion sections, quizzes – but no lectures. Personally, I disliked it, but some students liked it very much.</p>
<p>It’s unfortunate that students rarely have a chance to choose the format of a course to match their own learning style, but on the other hand, adapting to different teaching styles and formats can be a learning experience in itself.</p>