Rutgers University Student Assembly

What Rutgers University Student Assembly does

Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) is the official undergraduate student government at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, established by a February 2007 university-wide student referendum and operational since 2008. It serves the university's 37,000+ undergraduate students across multiple schools including Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, Mason Gross, Pharmacy, and Bloustein. RUSA's mandate operates along three pillars: legislate (passing bills and resolutions at weekly Assembly meetings held Thursdays at 7:30 PM in the Student Activities Center on the College Avenue Campus), advocate (representing students at university, state, and federal levels including via partnership with Rutgers Department of Government Relations), and allocate (distributing over $2 million annually through the RUSA Allocations Board to 450+ student organizations, sports clubs, class councils, and professional governing councils).

The organization's core products and services are governance-oriented rather than technology-oriented: weekly Assembly meetings, eight standing committees (Academic Affairs, Health & Wellness, Internal Affairs, Legislative Affairs, Prevention/Assistance/Advocacy, Public Relations, Student Affairs, and University Affairs), elections conducted twice per academic year, an Allocations Board with formal budget help nights and treasurer trainings, and an Appeals Process for funding decisions. RUSA does not operate proprietary technology; it runs on third-party platforms including Squarespace for its website, GetInvolved (Campus Labs) for elections and funding forms, Google Drive for document management, Zoom for virtual sessions, and Instagram and Linktree for outreach and student engagement.

RUSA's business model is a non-commercial, fee-funded model. Its operating budget is derived from mandatory student activity fees allocated by the Chancellor of New Brunswick from the Student Fee amount set annually by the Rutgers Board of Governors; specific operating budget figures are not publicly disclosed. The organization allocates pass-through funding to registered student organizations through two mechanisms — direct funding to Registered Student Orgs and lump-sum transfers to Governing Councils — with the Student Activities Business Office (SABO) facilitating actual financial transactions. RUSA is a wholly university-affiliated entity with no outside revenue, no investors, and no commercial pricing model.

Name

Rutgers University Student Assembly

Legal name

Rutgers University Student Assembly

Website

https://rusa.rutgers.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Rutgers University Student Assembly is the official undergraduate student government at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, representing 37,000+ students by legislating policy, advocating at university/state/federal levels, and allocating over $2 million annually to 450+ student organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Government Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Government & Leadership Programs (EDALAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Student Affairs Administration (Conduct, Wellbeing, Support Oversight) (EDADAKAC)

Keywords

• Student government services
• Funding allocation services
• Student legislative advocacy
• Campus governance representation
• Undergraduate student affairs

Headquarters

HQ city

New Brunswick

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Student Activities Fee Allocation: RUSA receives a lump sum from the Chancellor of New Brunswick, determined from the Student Fee amount set by the Rutgers Board of Governors. RUSA then empowers the RUSA Allocations Board to review budget requests from every student organization and distribute funds through direct funding to registered student orgs or lump-sum transfers to Governing Councils.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

RUSA is the official undergraduate student government at Rutgers University-New Brunswick that advocates on behalf of students at the university, state, and federal levels through engagement with administrators, stakeholders, and legislators. It legislates through bills and resolutions and allocates over $2 million annually to more than 450 registered student organizations and councils via the RUSA Allocations Board. The Assembly holds weekly public meetings every Thursday at 7:30 PM at the Student Activities Center where any undergraduate student can present legislation or share concerns.

Product overview

Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA) is not a commercial technology company but rather the official student government organization at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. It does not offer a unified software product or platform. Instead, RUSA provides governance services including the RUSA Allocations Board (funding for 450+ student organizations), RUSA Elections (student government elections), Student Resources Directory, Appeals Process for funding decisions, and Assembly Meetings/Standing Committees for legislative activities. These services operate through third-party platforms including GetInvolved (Campus Labs), Google Drive, and Zoom, rather than a proprietary product system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RUSA Allocations Board
• RUSA Elections
• Student Resources Directory
• Appeals Process
• Budget Help Nights
• Treasurer Trainings

Quantifiable outcome

• Restored $60 million in proposed state budget cuts through legislative advocacy
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Association of Big Ten Schools (ABTS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRUSA joined ABTS, a coalition of Big Ten student governments that serves to help advocate on behalf of 500,000+ BIG 10 students at the federal level. This partnership enables collective advocacy on issues affecting students across the Big Ten conference.
• Rutgers Dining ServicesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Meal Swipes for Charity initiative, which gives students the opportunity to donate unused guest meal swipes at the end of every semester to benefit a charitable organization selected by the Student Assembly.
• Rutgers Department of Government RelationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in legislative advocacy and engagement with state legislators that resulted in the restoration of $60 million in proposed state budget cuts affecting Rutgers students.
• RUPD, NBPD, Division of Student Affairs, and Mayor's OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborate on Good Neighbor Welcome initiative to welcome off-campus student residents and distribute safety information. RUSA also participates in New Student Orientation, Convocation, and Commencements.
• Student Activities Business Office (SABO)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSABO acts as Rutgers' bank for student organizations. RUSA operates alongside SABO to distribute funding—RUSA provides the funding allocation decisions and SABO facilitates the actual financial transactions, managing the online accounts for student organizations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• UC Berkeley Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC): ASUC is the elected student government at UC Berkeley. It runs elections, funds student organizations via allocations, and engages in advocacy, structurally identical to RUSA's core functions on a similarly large public-university campus.
• University of Michigan Central Student Government: Central Student Government is the elected undergraduate student government at U-M Ann Arbor, operating elections, allocating student fees to ~1,500 student orgs, and running a legislative assembly — directly comparable in mandate and scale to RUSA.
• University of Maryland Student Government Association: SGA is the elected undergraduate student government at UMD, a fellow Big Ten public university. It runs elections, allocates student organization funding, and engages in university, state, and federal advocacy — directly parallel to RUSA.
• Penn State University Park Undergraduate Student Government: UP-USG is the official undergraduate student government at Penn State's University Park campus, the largest single-campus undergraduate population in the US. It allocates student fee funding and operates legislative functions analogous to RUSA.
• Ohio State University Undergraduate Student Government: USG is the official undergraduate student government at Ohio State, a fellow Big Ten peer of Rutgers. It allocates student activity fee funding to hundreds of student organizations and operates legislative and executive branches.
• Indiana University Student Association (IUSA): IUSA is the student government at Indiana University Bloomington, another Big Ten peer. It runs elections, allocates funding, and advocates for students at the campus and state level, comparable in structure and mission to RUSA.
• UCLA Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC): USAC is the undergraduate student government at UCLA, one of the largest public universities in the US. It operates with elected officers, an Allocations Board, committees, and advocacy functions structurally comparable to RUSA's three-branch model.
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Student Body Government: Illinois SBG is the undergraduate student government at UIUC, a fellow Big Ten public university. It runs legislative sessions, elections, and student organization funding, providing a near-direct structural analogue to RUSA.
• University of Wisconsin–Madison Associated Students of Madison (ASM): ASM is the student governance body at UW-Madison, a Big Ten peer institution. It runs student elections, allocates segregated fee funding to student orgs, and represents students at the campus, city, and state level — closely parallel to RUSA.

Others

• Campus Labs (Anthology): Campus Labs (now part of Anthology) provides the GetInvolved platform that RUSA uses for elections, appeals, and budget requests. It is an enabling technology provider rather than a peer, but its product directly shapes RUSA's operational capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rutgers-university-student-assembly
• Instagraminstagram.com/rusa.nb
• Xx.com/rusa_nb
• Facebookfacebook.com/rusa.nb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rutgers University Student Assembly