Getting to RRU  
Campus Map
Parking
Security
RRU Support Services
Library
Computer Facilities
Learner Counselling
Roads Retail
RRU grounds, gardens and wildlife
Transferring/Converting cash
Business Centre
Learner Career Services
Living in Victoria
Food and Supplies
Clothing
Maps
Local Newspapers
Hospitals 
Medical Insurance
Transportation
Banks
Canadian Holidays

RRU Support Services 
Royal Roads University is committed to providing quality services that create a supportive learning community. These include a full range of fitness and recreation facilities, a fully integrated Learning Resource Centre, computer labs, student counselling, and career services. Learners are encouraged to join academic, recreational and social associations and clubs on campus. Please visit Learner Information for details. 

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Learner Services
The University Life office is where you will get your learner  photo ID card. The car is also your library card and functions as a form of identification outside of the RRU community.

Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (Monday to Friday)
University Life is located in Grant 130 in the Grant Building. 
Computer services
Computer services are available in the Library building
Computer facility hours:
Monday to Thursday 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fridays 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Saturdays 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m.
Sundays 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. 
Holidays 10:00 a.m. -5:30 p.m.

Library Hours: 
Monday to Thursday - 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Friday - 8:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Your learner ID card is also your library card. Bring it with you when want to check books out from the library. You can also look up specific books or browse useful reference material specific to your division by using the library catalogue online.

Course materials and books are sold in the library

Business Centre 
The Royal Roads Business Centre is located in the library and offers services such as image scanning, mail services, phone cards, stamps, courier services, fax service and photocopying.

Career Services Centre 
The Career Services Centre can assist you with career management, career decision making, labour market information and job search issues. They provide networking and interview information, as well as websites listing where international jobs are posted. This may be of interest to you after you graduate. Contact Chris Brown, a career services consultant, at chris.brown@royalroads.ca to book an appointment. His office is located in Grant 130 in the Grant Building. 

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Roads Retail
This is your RRU store with an assortment of Royal Roads clothing, accessories and gifts at Roads Retail. The store is now physically located in the portable between the Grant and Nixon buildings. Visit the store online.

Store hours:
Monday to Thursday 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Friday 1:00p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Student Counselling
Pacific Centre Family Services Association provides counselling to all Royal Roads University learners free of charge. If you are having difficulties and you need some counselling assistance or guidance, please take advantage of this service. They provide confidential information and referral, brief counselling, support and guidance to students. They should also have counsellors who speak your language. They are not located on the university campus, but are housed at 3221 Heatherbell Road, Victoria. The telephone number is 478-8357. You must book an appointment before going to the offices.

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Money Transfers/Conversions 
Money may be readily transferred in a number of ways, including bank-to-bank transfers that can be arranged through your home bank. If you are using this system, be aware that such transfers can take time; you may want to bring Canadian dollars with you. Credit cards (VISA and MasterCard) or bank cards are easy to use. Most Canadian Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) use the plus or interac systems for transfer. Your tuition, book purchases, and residence/food purchases may be made by credit card. 

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Campus Grounds, Gardens and Wildlife 
The beautiful Japanese, Italian and rose gardens are part of the original Hatley Park estate and are open to the public from dawn to dusk. Waste bins are provided to keep the campus free of litter. Visitors are asked to keep to the paths to preserve the beauty of the gardens. Litter can be particularly tempting to curious wildlife, often with tragic results so, once again, kindly use the bins for any type of garbage. The gardens are gated to protect the plants from campus wildlife. Please make sure they are kept closed at all times.

Wildlife abounds on the Royal Road University campus. Deer, peacocks, squirrels and other small animals roam freely on the grounds. Cougars are occasionally seen on campus in the fall and winter months. All Dogs must be kept under control and leashed at all times to avoid confrontations with the wildlife on campus. 

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Living in Victoria
Accommodations on campus is only available for up to five weeks and can be limited. These rooms are normally reserved for learners during their 2-5 week residencies. The Housing Office is located in Grant 130 and can provide learners with contact information for various kinds of accommodation, such as homestays, rooms, room and board, apartments and houses.

Clothing
You should be prepared for all kinds of weather. even though Victoria is considered among the warmest climates in Canada. However, because it is an island it can get cool and wet. Contact University Life (Grant 130) to find out what clothing is best for the time you plan to be at RRU.

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Maps of Victoria
You can find maps of Greater Victoria, Downtown Victoria, the Gulf Islands and more online on the Victoria Tourism website. Simply click into the area where you want to go to find detailed street and attraction locations.

Transportation
Victoria has a good bus system. Typically, a one-way ride costs $1.50. Students have the option to purchase a monthly bus pass. If you plan to drive in Canada, you should obtain an International Driver's License before leaving home.

Getting to Vancouver
If you want to visit Vancouver, there are several ways to get there. The most popular way (and the least expensive) is by ferry. The ferry carries cars and foot passengers from Swartz Bay north of Victoria to Tsawwassen, south of Vancouver. There are several ways to get to the ferry terminal:

You can drive you to the ferry terminal and walk on as a foot passenger, or; 
Take the Pacific Coach Lines (PCL) bus from downtown Victoria or at locations the bus stops along the way. Your bus fare covers the ferry cost, or; 
Public transit is available to the ferry terminal where get on the ferry as a foot passenger.

Pacific Coach Lines
Please visit the Pacific Coach Lines website for schedule information.

Booking flights
Here are just a few telephone numbers for the most popular airlines out of Victoria.
Airlines Phone Number
Air BC/Air Canada (250) 360-9074
West jet Airlines 1-800-538-5696
Helijet Airways (250) 382-6222
Horizon Airlines 1-800-547-9308

You can also book flights to any other destination on the Internet. Some useful websites to do this are (Royal Roads does not endorse or guarantee the services of these websites):
expedia.ca
aircanada.ca
westjet.ca
cheapticketscanada.com

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Banks
It is advised that international learners open a bank account for depositing your money in Canadian, or American fund in while you are in Canada. There are many banks to choose from in the Greater Victoria area; here is a list of some of the most popular banks (RRU does not endorse, or guarantee the services of these organizations).
HSBC Bank Canada: www.hkbc.com/chinese (Chinese version). There are four branches of the HSBC Bank Canada in Victoria. You can find their locations online at the site above.
Royal Bank: www.royalbank.ca
TD Canada Trust: www.tdcanadatrust.ca
Bank of Montreal: www.bmo.ca/chinese (Chinese version) CIBC:  www.cibcasianbanking.ca (Chinese version)
Scotiabank: www.scotiabank.ca 

To open a bank account you will require proper identification such as your passport. You will also have to decide whether you want to open a chequing account, or a savings account. Someone at the bank will be able to advise you on how their services suit your needs while in Canada. If you do not have a credit card, you may want to apply for one at the bank, since credit cards are normally required for hotels, car rentals and phone purchases.

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Shopping for food and supplies 
If you live close to Royal Roads University there are several grocery stores in the area you can shop at. These are Fairway Market and Thrifty Foods, both located east of the campus gates on Sooke Road. These chains also have locations around Victoria, as does the Safeway food chain. You should be able to find most basic items at these stores. You can also shop at Chinatown, located near the inner harbour in downtown Victoria, or the various speciality shops that cater to special dietary needs, or gourmet specialties.

Clothes and Personal Items
There are several shopping malls in the Victoria area that you can shop at for clothing and other items. The largest are: Eatons Centre (Downtown), Mayfair Mall (Douglas Street), Hillside Mall (Hillside and Shelbourne), Town & Country Shopping Centre (Douglas Street), and Tillicum Mall (Tillicum Road). There are also many other individual stores downtown for you to shop at. You may also wish to shop in Chinatown, which is located off of Government Street downtown. 

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Newspapers
The Times Colonist is Victoria's newspaper of record and can be purchased any day of the week. You can also receive it at your home address in the morning. If you are staying with a host family, they may already subscribe. The Times Colonist can be bought nearly anywhere around Victoria, including grocery stores, gas stations, or convenience stores.

Monday Magazine is a free weekly entertainment newspaper that can be found all over town. There is no charge for this newspaper.

Other Major B.C. newspapers include the Vancouver Sun, The Province, Ming Pao newspaper and Sing Tao newspaper serving Asian readers 

Canadian newspapers distributed nationally are the Globe and Mail and the National Post. Both are considered newspapers of record for the country and have some regional sections relevant to British Columbians. 

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Hospitals
You many choices if you need medical treatment. Victoria has several hospitals. We have listed them below. You can also go to any walk-in clinic and without an appointment. If you are having a medical emergency, go to an emergency ward at one of the hospitals listed below (no appointment required) and they will assist you there. However, waiting times can be long for some ailments, so walk-in clinics can be a better alternative for non-life threatening issues.

It is important to remember to bring a health insurance card or relevant documentation when you go to a walk-in clinic or hospital emergency ward. They will need to know what your insurance coverage is, or they will require payment for any services. In particular, you should keep a small card in your wallet with emergency numbers and knowledge about your health insurance plan. If you are in a car accident, for example, there will be no time to go home and get your health insurance. It is best to carry this information with you at all times to ensure that you will not have to pay for any medical service out of your own pocket. You should also carry the emergency numbers for the RRU Security office in your wallet as well, in case you need to notify RRU about any personal emergency you are having.

Victoria hospitals: 
Royal Jubilee Hospital 1900 Fort Street, Victoria, BC (250) 370-8000

Victoria General Hospital 1 Hospital Way, Victoria, BC (250) 727-4167

Saanich Peninsula Hospital Saanichton, BC (250) 652-3911
Traditional Chinese medicine:
There are two colleges of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Victoria. They are:
The International College of Traditional Chinese Medicine 769 Pandora Avenue, Victoria, B.C. V8W 1N9
Tel/Fax: (250) 388-4266
E-mail: info@tcminternational.com
Website: www.tcminternational.com

Canadian College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
855 Cormorant Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1R2
Tel: (250) 384.2942 / Fax: (250) 360-2871
E-mail: caom@islandnet.com
Website: www.ccaom.com


Helpful health care contacts: 

Capital Health Region, Community Health Services
General inquiries: (250) 388-2273
Toll free: 1-888-533-2273
Website: www.crd.bc.ca
 
B.C. Ministry of Health
1515 Blanshard, Victoria, BC
Tel: (250) 952-3456
Website: www.hlth.gov.bc.ca

Health Canada Online
Website: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english 

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Medical Insurance
All learners must have medical insurance while in Canada. It is the responsibility of the learner to obtain health care insurance coverage. The British Columbia Medical Services Plan (MSP) is the health care provider in B.C. The provincial plan covers medical insurance after three months in B.C.

The medical service plan office is located at: 
1515 Blanshard Street,
Victoria, BC V8W 3C8
Tel: (250) 386-7171

It is recommended that learners staying less than three months purchase health insurance. Strategic Financial Services can provide you with temporary health insurance. You can read information about their service plan in either English or Chinese on their website. 

Dental Insurance
Dental insurance is not mandatory while living in Canada, but without it you should be prepared to pay directly for any dental care you require while in Canada. Since dental care in Canada can be expensive, we suggest you have a complete dental examination before leaving your home country to avoid any unexpected dental problems while you are in Canada. If an examination isn't possible, then we recommend you purchase dental insurance for the time you are in Canada.

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Canadian Holidays
On some of these holidays, there will be no classes. Please check with your instructor about the university's policies around certain holidays.
Jan. 1: New Year's Day
Oct. 10: Thanksgiving Day (Canadian)
Nov. 11: Remembrance Day
Dec. 25: Christmas Day
Dec. 26: Boxing Day

Please consult a Canadian calendar for a full listing of holidays. Most banks advise customers of holiday hours and these are consistent with most government offices. Shops and businesses may vary in holiday observances.

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