Is CiviCase suited for this scenario?

Question

CiviCRM Version : 4.6.10
Joomla Version : 3.4.5

Is CiviCase suited for the following scenario? If so, out of the box? Or would it need to be extended?

Scenario:
Member opens a case (on front-end) to begin process of earning certification
2 Path Options:

• 1. Earn (defined # of) credits over a set period of time (by attending courses).
  • a. Org Staff adds approved (3rd party) credit courses to system (not CiviEvents).
  • b. Courses viewable by member on front-end (case management).
  • c. Member checks a course once attended/completed.
  • d. Course credits are applied to Member Certification Credits.
  • e. Once required amount of credits are earned, Member requests certification approval.
  • f. Org Staff confirms credits actually earned (against rosters), Approves/Denies Certification.
• 2. (Pay For) and Download exam to complete and submit to Org Staff.
  • a. Member submits payment via front-end form
  • b. Thank you page displays link to downloadable exam
  • c. Member completes exam and submits to Org Staff (via email/snail mail)
  • d. Org Staff Approves/Denies Certification

Already using Civi for Membership/Org Events, etc.
Want to keep this functionality within Civi, it is our current members that will be applying for the certification.
Again, the courses are via a 3rd party, we do not want any involvement setting them up in Civi Events. Only to put them in a list of pre-approved creditable courses that the user can check off.

Answer 1

It wouldn't do this out of the box. You've indicated you don't want to use CiviEvent but if you did then you would be able to do online payments. You could use CiviContribute too for online payments.

Something like Moodle might be a better fit.

Answer 2

I see you are using Joomla.

If migrating to Drupal would be an option, this would give you very powerful features for frontend exposure of forms and data to your users. The Drupal modules Webform and Views are deeply integrated with CiviCRM, so you can - for example - let users view and edit their case activities in very flexible ways. And that's a crucial part of your project, If I understand it right.

Since your process is not a small task to implement anyhow, switching to Drupal might be worth considering to get this powerful functionality.

To answer your question: With Drupal views and webforms, I would see a chance to manage your processes with CiviCase. To go ahead, I would recommend setting up a Drupal development environment to build a prototype and see what works for you and what doesn't. With Joomla or Wordpress, such functionality does not exist (yet), but I also have to admit that I'm less familiar with these CMS.