Yes…

I don’t think this is a comment on your university. I was an English major, so I obviously had to buy books. But I think most profs would prefer to do without the textbooks and just test you on stuff that came out of their heads. Unless the book is very good or otherwise indispensable, I can see that some instructors would never crack it open themselves.

It depends on the professor and his/her status as well as overview. Newer prof’s tend to require textbooks because they get evaluated for tenure and need to have a textbook as part of the course ingredients to be looked at favorably. But they may not necessarily use the textbook because sometimes textbooks are assigned by the department (especially true for lecturers), or the department has to use a certain publisher due to kickbacks, etc. In essence, they think the textbook sucks, which many in fact do. Instead, they use their own notes and formulations they may have and quiz you on that.

I do not recommend taking a class without having access to the textbook. You can share it, or check out an older edition of the text from the library if you are short on funds. Or share it with a roommate/friend. Some professors write their own text and of course they want you and all their students to buy their words of wisdom.

Best wishes.

sure. in actuality many professors purely have a textbook to get perks for his or her grad pupils. it would not be irrelevant to sit down with a professor in the process workplace hours and ask bearing directly to the text textile.

there is the internet!