Let’s say you wanted to attend a lecture or seminar at your school, but just weren’t able to make it. End of story? Not anymore — enter iTunes U.

The University of Virginia now offers well over 1,000 lectures, videos, etc. as a free digital download from its new channel called iTunes U.

Just like Apple’s iTunes — which allows users to buy music for downloading to their computers — iTunes U users can download courses as audio content called podcasts, or videos called vodcasts.

Once a file is downloaded to the computer, it goes into the iTunes library. It’s up to the individual to decide whether to burn it to a CD, transfer it to an iPod, or listen to it on the computer.

Here’s another interesting feature: If a student subscribes to a specific course, new material will be downloaded automatically to his iTunes library.

Other universities have taken advantage of iTunes for offering course content to students. But the University of Virginia takes it a step further by providing a weekly radio show, pre-football game lectures and even a tour of its campus for prospective students.

Does your school offer free digital downloading? Let us know in the comments section below.

Tags: iTunes, iTunes U, University of Virginia