Here is an interesting piece from The Independent on a recent study of college students in Britain. It finds that the Brits put less time into their coursework than do students in any other European country. Also, that students in communication courses (such as “media studies”) work much less than do students taking programs in medicine, dentistry, and (topping them all) veterinary medicine.
I don’t recall the precise figures from the National Survey of Student Engagement here, but I think they showed that the average student in the United States puts in even less study time than British students do.