Instructionally Related Activities
What is an IRA?
An Instructionally Related Activity (IRA) is an "out-of-class experience" that provides enrichment to students and enhances their learning at Cal Poly. Funding for recognized IRAs is provided through student fees. All IRA programs/activities are partially sponsored by an academic dean or department and are "integrally related" to a formal instructional program.
General IRA Information
- List of Recognized IRA Programs
- Criteria for IRA Recognition
- Expenditure Guidelines
- Frequently Asked Questions
- IRA Resource and Operations Guide
2024-25 Allocations
Call for Proposals
Proposals are now being accepted for first-time IRA recognition for the 2025-26 academic year.
- Requests for IRA recognition and funding are initiated through faculty or staff advisors who submit the proposals to their college or the VP Student Affairs. The IRA Advisory Committee reviews all requests for recognition and forwards their recognition recommendations to the campus President. With advice from the College Student Councils, the Deans and VP Student Affairs review funding requests and make funding recommendations for the recognized IRAs within their college/area. These recommendations are forwarded, via the IRA Advisory Committee, to the campus President for approval.
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If your proposed activity will require work space or may create safety concerns, contact your department/college/division to ensure needs of the activity can be met. Recognition of an activity as an IRA in no way guarantees it will be able to operate if space or safety concerns cannot be met.
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Note that the total amount of IRA funding available increases only slightly each year, if at all, and can drop if campus or individual college enrollments drop. Therefore, recognition as an IRA in no way guarantees funding. Potential new activities are encouraged to research those IRAs already operating on campus and, if the activities are similar, to contact the existing activity and discuss the possibility of working together.
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Help with your proposal: Please contact Jessica Carson in Academic Innovations and Programs (carson@calpoly.edu) for any questions about the proposal forms or the process.
Video: Proposal for a New IRA - Word document form overview 7:12
Video: Proposal for a New IRA - Excel Budget form overview 8:28 Note that the budget sheet has been streamlined since this training video was recorded; the recording includes a few steps that are no longer relevant. If you do not see a section on the budget form referred to in the video, simply skip that step.
Forms
- New IRA Recognition Request (Word)
- New IRA Budget Proposal (Excel)
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Complete both an IRA Recognition Request and a Budget Proposal form and submit together via Adobesign to your Dean/Associate Dean or, for Student Affairs IRAs, to the Vice President of Student Affairs. Send to yourself and then, using their Cal Poly email addresses, to your department chair and the additional signer(s)/Approver(s)/Acceptor(s) for your unit - see below and on the Word proposal form for your specific routing based on college/area. The administrative support staff for your department should be able to help you with Adobesign or please refer to the following link for a tutorial:
Helpful Resources
Important Deadlines to submit forms to your VP or Dean's Office:
- January 27, 2025 for NEW IRA proposals
- March 3, 2025 for CONTINUING recognition and funding requests for currently recognized IRAs (forms will be posted in mid- to late-January)
- 2025 Timeline for Proposals / Approvals
Adobesign Routing:
- The Proposer will sign twice – Word document and Excel sheet
- The Department Head/Chair/Director/AVP will sign twice – Word document and Excel sheet
- Any added signers will sign once and be added to the Word document under the Dean/Associate Dean/Vice President signature
- The College Dean/Associate Dean/Vice President or designee will sign once – Word document
- Any added signers will sign/initial once and be added to the Word Document in AdobeSign under the Dean/Associate Dean/Vice President signature
- All signatures are required. Forms with missing signatures will not be considered by the committee
- Route forms for signatures through Adobe-sign. For instructions, see https://tech.calpoly.edu/services/forms-and-esignature-adobe-sign and Send a Document to a Single Signer or Multiple Signers
Routing instructions:
College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences 1. Proposer/Advisor, 2. Jessica Carson (carson) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line), 3. Department Chair or Area Director, 4. Angie Erb (aerb01) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line) 5. Associate Dean Ann De Lay (adelay) as Dean
College of Architecture and Environmental Design 1. Proposer/Advisor, 2. Jessica Carson (carson) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line), 3. Department Chair, 4. Mariam Emyan (memyan) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line) 4. Interim Dean Kevin Dong (kdong)
Orfalea College of Business Connect with the college’s internal process for IRA proposals. If you haven’t already done so, please contact Kristy Cutter-Rogers at kcutter@calpoly.edu or 805 756-5262. When routing for signatures, list carson@calpoly.edu as an acceptor (initial under Dean signature line) immediately after you sign and before your area chair.
College of Engineering 1. Proposer/Advisor, 2. Jessica Carson (carson) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line), 3. Department Chair, 4. Associate Dean Zoe Wood (zwood) as Dean
College of Liberal Arts 1. Proposer/Advisor, 2. Jessica Carson (carson) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line), 3.Department Chair, 4. Joy Sisler (jsisler) as Approver (sign under Dean signature line), 5. Josh Machamer (jmachame) as Approver (sign under Dean signature line), 6. Interim Dean Kate Murphy (ksmurphy) as Dean
Bailey College of Science and Mathematics 1. Proposer/Advisor, 2. Jessica Carson (carson) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line), 3. Department Chair, 4. Associate Dean Karl Saunders (ksaunder) as Dean, 5. Emi Youngquist (eyoungqu) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line).
Non-College Academic Affairs 1. Proposer/Advisor, 2. Jessica Carson (carson) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line), 3. Department or Division Head/Director/AVP, 4. Andrew Morris Executive Director Academic Programs and Planning (admorris) as Dean
Student Affairs 1. Proposer/Advisor, 2. Jessica Carson (carson) as Acceptor (initial under Dean signature line), 3. Department or Division Head/Director/AVP, 4. Yukie Murphy (yumurphy) as Approver (sign under Dean signature line), 5. Cynthia Villa (cvvilla) as Dean/VP
Contacts
Need help? Have questions? Contact Jessica Carson, Administrative Analyst, Office of Academic Innovations and Programs