HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Controversy about pay hikes at Western Washington University.

In a single collective bargaining agreement, Western Washington University has undermined state efforts to control costs, spotlighted the tuition bubble, and spurred interest in a new delivery model. Western’s mischief has not gone unnoticed.

Pointing to high unemployment and “the worst economic times in 80 years,” Gov. Chris Gregoire wrote WWU president Bruce Shepard to express “grave concerns” about the school’s decision to increase faculty pay by more than 14 percent over the next three years. Department chairs and faculty receiving promotions get additional boosts.

The agreement is not subject to review by the state budget office or Legislature.

Gregoire writes that she and the Legislature did not intend for higher student tuition to lead to “significant salary increases for faculty” and is “perplexed” at how the school thinks it can afford them. Responding on “Bruce’s Blog,” Shepherd praises his colleagues’ “heroic” efforts in weathering the economic realities. He celebrates the contract, saying it represents the “courage and leadership these difficult times demand.” But he doesn’t address the affordability question. Efforts to cast the contract as a duel between tuition and faculty salaries, he dismisses as “pernicious … rhetorical hyperbole.”

Uh huh.