Mike Harris's Conservative government announced it is increasing grants to universities and colleges by about $68 million, or just under 3 per cent. Deborah Flynn, president of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, said the announced funding increase falls far short of what is needed. "This represents a funding freeze in real terms and does nothing to make up for the $1 billion in cumulative losses since 1996. The government is not only relinquishing its responsibility to rebuild the system, but it is also asking students to yet again pay higher tuition fees." Critics were also concerned that a portion of the new funding would be distributed based upon the performance of universities and colleges based on two criteria: graduation rates and employment rates of graduates. Flynn said similar indicators used in Alberta do not reflect the performance of different institutions because they fail to take into account external factors -- such as general economic conditions -- that are beyond a university or college's control.