Hi Steve!
The course request feature in Moodle/Totara was not sufficient for our organization since we needed to capture a good bit of information and provide an ability to document reviewer approval of elements (ex. graphics/theming, tech writing, legal, etc). We are implementing a "Course Request" course that is open to all users as a learner role. The essential piece is a database activity that allows to easily customize the form content and monitor edits by the e-learning team. Using a URL on our front page, we can send users directly to the Add New form in the database activity. Our development team are all in a training role for the course so they can go back in and make edits as the project progresses.
Steve