| NEWS | Matt Hennie Crunch from p 10 that pressure by increasing international student admission to make up for budget shortfalls. A 2018 report from ASU’s Office of the Economist charts this trend, which began in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis when endowments were plummeting alongside enrollment. “In fall 2009, international students accounted for 5.2 percent of total student enrollment at ASU’s metro campuses,” according to the report. “By fall 2017, the international student share had increased to 14.3 percent.” Because of the steep costs required to study abroad in the U.S., most of the new international students at that time came from wealthy households, resulting in a substantial cash infusion into the univer- sity and surrounding Tempe economy. “Among undergraduates, international students paid 76 percent more in net tuition and fees than did the average student,” according to the report. “International undergraduates enrolled at ASU spent a total of $2,217 per month on housing, utili- ties, telecommunications, food, entertain- ment, retail, and personal services.” That is 46 percent more than what the average ASU undergraduate spent at the time of the study, according to the report. By 2015, ASU had the fourth highest international student enrollment in the country. Two years later, an analysis by Real Page found that ASU had the tenth highest overall enrollment growth and the “highest change of enrollment” among American universities. It noted, “The amount of enrollment growth affects student housing demand, which translates into the amount of new supply needed and the ability of new and existing supply to be absorbed in the market.” 12 Closer to Campus at a Cost Betha, who arrived in the U.S. as interna- tional student from India, said the university hasn’t built enough student housing to accommodate the influx of new students. ASU declined to answer questions from More than 80 percent of ASU students live in off-campus housing, adding to a tight and increasingly expensive housing market in Tempe. New Times. “Thank you for reaching out, but it doesn’t look like we will be able to help you with your request,” ASU Media Relations Officer Gabriella Kemp said. The university has a marketing partner- ship with Vertex, District on Apache, and Atmosphere Tempe — luxury apartment communities with amenities and walk- ability to match. Starting rents range from $1,500 to $1,700 for one-bedroom units. Arjun Cheviviballi, an international graduate student in construction engi- neering at ASU, found limited options when he arrived in January. Cheviviballi, 23, has been subletting a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment two miles from campus for $1,100 a month. He has been trying unsuccessfully to find a new place. “I am trying to get closer to campus so I can just walk,” he said. Cheviviballi added that he’s worried about an impending rent hike. He sublets from a friend, and once the lease expires, the price of the room will jump to between $1,500 and $1,600. “My preference is a one-bedroom, one-bathroom place for a similar price, but that’s not possible right now,” Cheviviballi said. He is currently considering getting a roommate to lease a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment closer to campus. To help address the tight rental market, the city of Tempe has sought to expand the housing supply through a textbook urban renewal plan. Initiatives include offsetting preliminary costs such as environmental assessments, offering tax credits and other benefits to developers who reserve units for workforce housing, and upzoning existing properties to increase density. It is also purchasing land to create workforce housing and has chartered a nonprofit, the Tempe Coalition for Affordable Housing, that manages more than 100 units. But the impact of those efforts remains to be seen. AUG 25TH–AUG 31ST, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
