IRA Student Travel

Request for independent student travel funding

Students may be funded for independent travel through the Instructionally Related Activities (IRA) fund in accordance with the guidelines and procedures indicated below. Student travel will be funded only if the following conditions are met and the request is approved in advance by the University Provost (or designee).

Guidelines

1. Student must be currently enrolled at SF State. 
2. They must be an active participant in the conference/meeting they wish to attend (i.e. a presenter of a paper or performer). 
3. Student will not be funded if they are eligible to receive travel funds to attend the same conference/meeting through any IRA budget (e.g. Forensics, Model UN). 
4. No more than $600 will be awarded per student each fiscal year. Funds must be expended in accordance with state travel regulations. Funding requests to travel outside of the U.S. must follow current CSU International Travel/Travel to High Risk Countries guidelines  and the advance process necessary through the college dean (or designee), Risk Management, the Provost and the SFSU President. Travel insurance is required for all international travel with the insurance cost being deducted from the allocation. 

CSU High-Risk Countries Guidelines

5. Student may not be reimbursed for mileage or the cost of a rental car unless the student is employed by the University (or appointed as a volunteer) and meets the SFSU driver safety program requirements. 
6. Review the CSU travel policy for detailed SFSU/CSU travel information.  

CSU Travel Policy

Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 447 on September 2023, ending California’s restriction on taxpayer-funded travel by state agencies to states which have adopted discriminatory LGBTQ+ laws. There are no longer any banned states for CSU travel.

Prior to travel 

1. A completed Request for Approval of Student IRA Travel form.

Student IRA Travel Form

2. A signed Release of Liability for Domestic or International form. 

Release of Liability for Domestic or International

3. A brief statement indicating how participation in this conference/meeting will enhance his/her educational goals. 
4. Attach evidence of his/her participation (e.g., a letter of invitation or a copy of the conference program or acceptance from the conference/meeting). The student forwards forms 1-4 above to include supporting documents to the chair of his/her major department.  The chair either endorses the request or denies it based on its adherence to the guidelines stated above and/or its educational merits.  If endorsed, the student forwards the request and supporting documents to the College dean. 
5. The dean (or designee) endorses or denies the request based on its adherence to the guidelines stated above and/or its educational merits.  If endorsed, travel coordinator prepares the Student IRA Travel Application Form, and submit supporting documents on our BOX Folder. 

Submit to Box 

6. NEW: Moving forward you must use Concur to submit both the travel request and expense report on the student’s behalf as they are non-employees and do not have access to Concur. When completing the request, please note the following:  
   1. Select *CSU Non-Employee Request Policy. 
   2. Name the Request/Trip Name IRA followed by the student’s first and last name. [e.g. IRA_Jane Doe]. This is intended to help you differentiate between your non-employee and employee travel that you may be responsible for on Concur.   
   3. Enter all estimated expenses, air, lodging, food etc. The request total should not exceed the amount the student is awarded.  
   4. Must use Chartfield: TA500-3010. This chartfield is for this IRA travel only! 

Post travel 

Submit Expense Report using Concur.  The travel policy requires reimbursement be completed within 60 days post travel.

Use the Non-Employee Expense Worksheet to help you calculate the appropriate per diem and expenses. The completed and signed worksheet is required to be attached to the Concur Expense Report. Refer to the Non-Employee Travel guide for reference. 

Non-employee travel expense worksheet 

Non-Employee Travel Guide

For any questions or support regarding Concur, please reach out to Amanda Tobias. 

Student IRA travel funds are available only for the Fall and Spring semesters. There are no IRA travel funds for Summer and Winter semesters.  Please let me know if you have any additional questions. 

If the travel is international, the college is responsible for submitting the appropriate documentation to Enterprise Risk Management for International Travel approval. Funding advances for student travel are not allowed. 

College travel contact information

For questions, please contact the travel coordinators at your college dean’s office: