Boston-area college students can skip class and not miss a note, thanks to new software that allows them to see and hear their missed lectures on their laptops and mp3 players.

Available since October 2007, the software, the Echo360 System Lecture Capture program, records Boston University School of Medicine lectures using a classroom computer that is scheduled to record at a during class. The lecture is automatically posted to an existing course management system along with other course materials.

“To access the lectures, Boston University School of Medicine students click on a link inside their course management system and have to enter a user name and password provided by BU,” said Echo 360 Marketing Director Mary Young.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been offering lecture content free of charge to the public, but at most colleges, only students enrolled in a course can see lectures.

Young said the program allows for better studying and test review, but the service is not cheap, with a $10,000 start up.

“The software is extremely easy for the instructor to use,” said Michael Lucas, coordinator of distance learning at UMass-Lowell. “We have it set up in five large lecture halls.”

Despite the advantages of the technology, some worry this program will decrease class attendance.

Young, however, said “the number of students coming to class depends mostly on the class’s professor and what the class topic is about.”

BU School of Medicine student Martha Barrett said she has not noted a drop in attendance in her classes, but said she thinks it reflects the dedication of medical students compared to undergraduates.

“I would have never attended a lecture as an undergrad if a program like this were available,” Barrett said. “Medical students . . [are] well aware of the need to understand and know the coursework in order to succeed in our careers. I don’t think many undergrad courses carry the same burden.”

Some BU undergraduate students said that having lectures and visuals available to watch on their own time would encourage them to miss class.

“It would be very easy for me to end up just watching the recorded lecture and skipping class especially if I’m not feeling quite up to par or am just feeling lazy,” Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman Monique Desnay said.

College of Engineering sophomore Dylan Jackson said attendance is important for understanding the material and would not skip a lecture just because it was available online.

“Professors can’t answer your questions during a podcast,” he said.