A federal study of 1999-2000 graduates found it takes students roughly 4.5 years on average to earn a bachelor's degree. About two-thirds of traditional-age college students who finished got through within five. A study of 2009 graduates is not yet complete.

In the 450,000-student California State system — the nation's largest public university system — the average is longer, in part because of large numbers of low-income, part-time and transfer students. A 2007 study of students who entered 12 years earlier found they took an average of 5.7 years.

Outside some classrooms, wait-listed students took turns standing closest to the door so they could hear the lecture and not fall too far behind should they get in.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091012/ap_on_re_us/colleges_full_classes

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colleges are cutting back making it even harder to get some neeeded classes. What do you think about this?

The college I go to just fired 17 staff members and the entire summer program has been canceled. It sucks.

While I admit that this is a kind of cold and heartless thing to say, most universities could probably cut their staff and enrolment in half with the only measurable "negative" effect being fewer university educated baristas at Starbucks.

I think it is to be expected and necessary in a recession like the one we are having. When receipts are less than your outlays, you cut-plain and simple. Richmond sent us a $12.6 million budget cut and we have to deal with it. I am on the SG finance committee and have to contend with pork almost every session. As a Student Senator of fiscal responsibility (I would not say just fiscal conservative as the budget bipartisan), I am astounded at our $22,800 budget. That comes from the student fees and during a recession we should not be spending just for the hell of it b/c we have the money. PM me if you want the name of my uni. I am not giving this out randomly due to confidentiality.

Just my 2 cents from someone who knows the ins and outs of this issue.

You mean the most bankrupt state in the union has to cut back on it's state funded collage programs?

Shocker.

4.5 years to do a bachelors degree? I did mine in 3, that's the standard time to do one in Britain.

I wanted to say something like this but you beat me to it.  California is spending more than it earns on social democratic experiments and abundance on welfare x, y, and z.  Not to mention the illegal immigrant issue and the lack of tax income from that demographic. 

If they cut the lower 50% of universities (in the UK and US) then we wouldn't lose any actual talent (very few of the people coming out of them do graduate-level jobs; most of them take soft options like Media Studies or Psychology and then do nothing with it).

Then they could use the funding to decrease the costs for people who got good A-levels and are studying core subjects the economy needs like the Sciences, English, Maths, History, Medicine...

And yet they're talking about raising tuition fees to £20000 ($31000) per year (that's not including living expenses or books) for top universities. And little help for anyone who's not on unemployment benefit or whose parents are divorced.

Fixed for priority reasons. While California obviously has an illegal immigrant problem, they are bleeding money from industrial outsourcing from what I understand.

It's supposed to take 4. 

Additionally US bachelors degrees are more broad.  You are required to take a lot more classes not directly related to your degree.

If your an english teacher your still expected to be above competent in subjects like science etc.  The thought being that a more broadly edjucated person is better at making broader decisions rather then being more narrow in thinking.