Founded in 1997 and incorporated in 1999, RRUSA has a longstanding history of supporting Royal Roads University students. Some of the noteworthy moments in our history include:
1997
RRUSA Award
The RRUSA Award was established in 1997 as an endowment and was funded through annual contributions by students at Royal Roads through RRUSA fees up to 2016.
June 7, 1999
Incorporation
RRUSA was incorporated by on-campus undergraduate students of RRU under the BC Society Act.
August 2011
BC Transit U-Pass Program
The U-Pass program has been running on campus since August 2011 when RRUSA held a referendum that passed with 83% of students voting in favour of the program. 77% of students participated in the vote. Regionally, the program has been operating since 1999 at the University of Victoria and Camosun College. This initiative was led by Lindsey Poepping, president of 2011.
November 2012
Violence against Women
In 2012, RRUSA applied for and successfully received $172,700 in funding from the Government of Canada through Status of Women Canada to prevent violence on campus.
March 2017
Masters student referendum fails
Referendum to add on-campus master students to the association failed to meet minimum threshold set by the University. 62 students participated (41% turnout), all voted in favour. The university mandates a two-thirds majority (66%) of the total number of students enrolled.
May 2017
RRUSA Bursary
The RRUSA Bursary was established in 2017 as a restricted fund following 20 years of annual contributions to the RRUSA award. Due to the healthy growth of the award’s endowment, annual contributions were diverted to this bursary instead.
August 2019
Second masters referendum fails
In total, 197 students voted in the referendum, which is below the minimum threshold for approval. Participation in the referendum was 52.53%. Out of the 197 total responses, 175 (89.29%) students voted “Yes”.
October 2021
Third masters referendum fails
In total, 180 students voted in the referendum, which is below the minimum threshold for approval. Participation in the referendum was 38.96%. Out of the 180 total responses, 156 (86.67%) students voted “Yes”.
February 2022
RRUSA SURF Bursary
The Student Urgent Response Fund (SURF) bursary was established in 2022 as a restricted fund available to members outside of award competition cycles for emergency funding.
March 2022
RRUSA joins the Alliance
The Board of Directors unanimously voted to join the Alliance of BC Students, a provincial student organization that represents over 80,000 students.
July 2023
Fourth masters Referendum – Passes
120 On Campus masters students voted 94% in favour of joining RRUSA. 405 students were eligible, 85% opened the email. This met the threshold based on the Universities Act.
July 2023
Online & Blended Masters Student Referendum – Passes
281 Online & Blended students voted 81% in favour of joining RRUSA. 1461 students were eligible, 73.3% opened the email. This met the threshold based on the Universities Act.
September 2023
New RRUSA Office in the Sherman Jen Building
RRUSA officially moves out of the Nixon Building to a beautiful new space in the Sherman Jen Building. The new space will allow more visibility to RRUSA which will result in more student engagement.