NYU officials want to build a system that can lock down a classroom at the push of a button, sounding an alarm and keeping intruders out. An entire floor or building could be secured by Public Safety remotely. Public announcement systems would issue instructions and information. Across campus, cell phones would ring, alerting students with NYU’s new emergency voice and text messaging system.

It’s a vision NYU is working to make a reality.

The university is looking to purchase a classroom lock down system, the first of its kind in a university setting, which could secure rooms, floors and entire buildings so no one could get in while still allowing people out. P.A. systems are currently being installed in new buildings, and older facilities will be retrofitted with the systems in the future.

But the crucial piece - the lock down mechanism - depends almost entirely on the budget, Vice President for Public Safety Jules Martin said. According to Martin, once the testing stage has been completed, most likely by this summer, a cost can be calculated and the numbers crunched.

All buildings - including dorms - are being considered, Crime Prevention Manager Jay Zwicker and Martin said in an interview. But priority will be given to buildings based on volume, putting the Silver Center at the top of the list.

The attack at Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg Campus left 33 dead, including the shooter. In its aftermath, schools around the nation, including NYU, reassessed their procedures, a process that ended in these new proposals.