BOSTON -- In the wake of the Virginia Tech campus massacre, Boston University is setting the standard when it comes to making sure its students are safe and informed in case of emergency.

The school is the first in the nation to mandate that students sign up for text message alerts, WCVB-TV in Boston reported.

If students don't sign up, they can't register for spring classes.

This weekend, the school sent out test alerts to about 40,000 students.

There were glitches in the system, but the goal is to reach as many students as possible, as fast as possible, to improve response time to a crisis.