The Reagan Administration is on the right track in moving for tighter control of government involvement in student assistance and in emphasizing need as a criteria for aid. And arguments by critics that the proposed .1983 education budget is inadequate sound a bit hollow in the light of a Heritage Foundation analysis which asserts that in terms of dollars, Washingtons commitment to higher education is at its “highest point in history.” The administration will be devoting nearly $14 billion in the next academic year to higher education through federally – supported assistance. including loans largely made possible because of federal guarantees against default. according to Dr. Edwin Feulner, president of the research foundation. Fuelner declared in a New York speech that in 1960 student aid in higher education consisted of $40 million in direct student loans. “The $4,3 billion which the administration expects to be available for college and graduate school students in the coming year represents an increase of 10,000 percent since l960,” he said. , Meantime, adjustments in criteria for student loans now put more stress on need, although the rules should be tightened still further in this regard. Until last Oct, 1, all students could qualify for government – guaranteed loans regardless of wealth. which hardly seems wise business policy for a nation involved in heavy red-ink spending. At President Reagan’s urging, Congress imposed the “need” test on families with incomes above $30.000 and forced students to pay a 5 percent fee when taking out the loans. New Education Department rules say students attending most private colleges can qualify for full guaranteed loans this fall if ‘ their families don’t earn more than $40,000 a year, still a generous provision. Those attending typical four-year public colleges will not be able to get a full $2,500 guaranteed loan if family income tops $30,000. a news dispatch reported, “But those with incomes up to about $36,000 could get at least a $1,000 loan.” Under certain conditions, even students from much higher income brackets can qualify, In another area. changes proposed by the President in the “Pell program” (outright gifts to assist the needy) would target 80 percent of federal grants to students from families with adjusted gross incomes under $12,000 a year. a step in the right direction. College costs keep rising, but the prime emphasis on financing should remain with the family and other private sources, with as little reliance on the government as possible. The administration should be encouraged in its pursuit of this principle.