RRUSA's History

The Royal Roads University Student Association was founded in 1997.

The RRUSA Award was established in 1997 as an endowment and was funded through annual contributions by RRU students through RRUSA fees.

RRUSA was officially incorporated in 1999 by the on-campus undergraduate students of Royal Roads University.

RRUSA held a referendum that passed with 83% of students voting in favour of the BC Transit Program (U-Pass). 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 Peopping, the 2011 RRUSA President.

RRUSA received $172, 700 from the Government of Canada through the Status of Women Canada to fund initiatives toward the prevention of gendered violence on campus.

RRUSA created official email addresses for each Executive Committee member for better communication with the membership.

RRUSA transitioned to incorporation under the BC Societies Act in 2017.

RRUSA held a referendum in 2017 to add on-campus masters students to the association membership. 62 students participated (41% turnout), all voted in favour. This failed to meet the minimum voting threshold, as the university mandates a two-thirds majority (66% turnout) of the total number of enrolled students.

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 the RRUSA Bursary.

In the second Masters Referendum, 197 students voted (53.53% turnout). Of the 197 total responses, 175 (89.29%) voted in favour. This did not meet the minimum voting threshold set by the university.

In the third Masters Referendum, 180 students voted (38.96% turnout). Of the 180 total responses, 156 (86.67%) voted in favour. This did not meet the minimum voting threshold set by the university.

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.

The RRUSA Board of Directors voted unanimously to join the Alliance of BC Students, a provincial student organization which represents over 80,000 post-secondary students in British Columbia.

120 on-campus masters students voted 94% in favour of joining RRUSA. This met the voting threshold based on the Universities Act.

281 online and blended students voted 81% in favour of joining RRUSA. This met the voting threshold based on the Universities Act.

RRUSA officially moved out of the Nixon building and into a beautiful new space in the Sherman Jen Building in 2023. The new space allows more visibility for RRUSA and as a result, more student engagement!