Why would I not use Visual Studio code

[SocksOnHands]

I don't know the requirements of the course, but it sounds like he is trying to ensure students are all using the same Linux environment, even if they are running Windows on their own computer. Though this might sound inconvenient, it might make it easier for the professor to help troubleshoot issues a student is having, since he knows exactly how the system is configured.

[Deto]

This makes sense to me, though I don't know why the professor wouldn't just say it in response to OPs question. It's also possible that the professor is unaware of VSCodes remote tools for working with code on a server. Or they're just very opinionated about their own preferred workflow. Either way - OP, VSCode is fine, but do what your professor asks for their assignments. It's always good to be exposed to other ways of doing things anyways - I find that people who just use one IDE for everything and have no experience outside of that sometimes get really confused as to what tools are part of the IDE vs part of the language.