The full range, however, includes food hygiene, occupational health and safety, engineering, travel subjects, textiles and clothing, and printing subjects with some less usual topics such as pig production. Drop-in workshops are also used for communication and language support, including English as a Foreign Language, and for mathematics. The scale of tutorial support may vary according to the nature of the course and the requirements of the individual student. A number of colleges offer students the option of buying learning material without tutorial support and may offer a variable pricing structure, allowing students to select their preferred level of support. Other colleges charge a 'price for the course' which includes materials and open-ended tutorial support.
Colleges vary in what they see as their catchment area.
Others offer courses nationally or internationally by distance learning. Those which have developed their own materials, especially in specialist areas of the curriculum, may franchise them to other colleges and establish national networks of tutorial support. Examples are Plymouth College of Further Education which produces materials for engineering, South Tyneside College which has expertise in shipbuilding and naval architecture and West Herts College which has a range of materials in printing and publishing subjects. The UK government and the Education and Employment Departments have consistently encouraged the extension of open and flexible learning during the 1980s and 1990s. This forms part of an overall trend towards making educational provision more accessible and increasing the take-up.