Transfer to another school then. Anyway complaining that you HAVE to go to class is a little??...like just go...have you got better things to do? Surely you can produce the work you like to do - a little self motivation goes a long way, your professors don't have to be your best friends.

imagine how hard the real world will be if you can’t handle school. School is the east part. Enjoy it, you won’t have the same freedoms when you need to actually live off your efforts/motivation. 

I went straight to grad school after undergrad and I remember starting to feel like I was just going through the motions at a certain point. I based my grad school decision of a combination of finances / where could I finish the program the fastest. Make some friends, enjoy school, get decent grades. Like Non mentioned, the real world is on the horizon. 

I'm afraid my question of faculty quality has been overshadowed by my competency as a student. If anyone has any particular comments regarding faculty in academia, that would be greatly appreciated!

There's a couple of other recent threads on the first page about this type of situation, with advice that applies to your post as well. Talk to the upper years, they will have perspective on what's going on with the faculty and whether first term is an exception or the rule.

You typed a lot but didn't actually say much. Besides the attendance thing, what about the faculty do you find lacking? 

sort of surprised to be reading this about [redacted] grad…but it’s been a long time since i had contact there

Interested to hear more on your concerns about the current faculty, if you feel you can share…discretion is understood

Most faculty these days are just pure charlatans. Was just discussing this with my dog - the faculty at my Alma Mater has been completely replaced by young "paper architects" that have never built a thing in their lives, mostly failed in the architecture professional world after a few years of practice, and aren't particularly smart or creative on the paper architecture side of things either. 

The problem seems worse at "better" (read - Ivy league and other highly rated) schools.

If you want to do well in grad school, just as in practice, you need to be self-directed, curious, motivated, and able to identify who can help you then bother them until they do.

I don't recall the 1st semester in grad school being glamorous. I also think the 1st semester now as compared to then is more glamorous. 

Pause and consider that the 1st year is skill build, so while you may know it all, not everyone in your cohort knows the same things (or as much). You all need to learn how to be patient with one another, learning to be students and a cohort, versus being consumers of a brand that will get you a job in a desired/field location (not you per se, but trend). Sounds lame, but when people become overwhelmed, it's great how your cohort can help to support them and identify serious concerns when they arise.

This rolls over into attendance- you're assuming it's absurd for any grad program because everyone should know the basics walking in without checking what you assume the basics are (AutoCAD vs. revit, revit vs. grasshopper, grasshopper vs python, plan vs. axon., scale versus the scroll wheel...). 

If you're that bored, take the grade hit until you're at a point where it will result in unsuccessful completion of the course- that's part of learning. If it's really that bad, talk to the program director, and make the case for exceptions.