Originally Posted by Val
Back in the late 90s, I knew a number of people who had recently attended or were still enrolled at public colleges in California. They told me that students commonly took 5 years to graduate because of needing an upper-level class that was oversubscribed and only offered once per year. My understanding is that the situation is even worse now, and that 5 or even 6 years is the norm for many majors (e.g. engineering).
The president of the California Senate proposed requiring California universities to accept MOOC credits to alleviate this problem,

http://chronicle.com/article/A-Bold-Move-Toward-MOOCs-Sends/137903/
California's Move Toward MOOCs Sends Shock Waves, but Key Questions Remain Unanswered
March 14, 2013

but after they moved to expand their online offerings, he shelved the bill

http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/california-puts-mooc-bill-on-ice/45215
California Puts MOOC Bill on Ice
August 1, 2013