BOULDER, Colo. -- In the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, Colorado universities are finding new ways to alert students in an emergency.

On the University of Colorado campus, it seems if students aren't talking, they're texting.

"My mom had to get me the unlimited plan, in fact, because I text message so much," said incoming freshman Brooke Hagenbuch.

She explored campus Monday with her parents, who will soon be headed back to Boston.

"We're a long way from her. She's a long way from home. So her safety is on our mind every day," said her father, Warren Hagenbuch.

He takes some comfort knowing an emergency alert soon will be just a text message away.

Following the shootings at Virginia Tech earlier this year, one of the chief complaints was that communications with students was too slow.

So once University of Colorado police officers reviewed their methods -- sirens, PA announcements and e-mails -- they started looking for new, faster ways to alert students in an emergency.

"We had a number of things," said CU Police Commander Brad Wiesley. "But one of the things generationally is text messaging."

Wiesley said in two to three weeks, the campus-wide system will be in place and students can register their numbers online and receive messages in the event of an emergency.

CU Junior Danielle Chiarottino is never away from her phone.

"People are so into texting now," she said. "As far as a siren, you hear it, and what does that mean? What’s the emergency? With a text, you know this is what it is."