Pending Status Workaround Suggestions?

Content

I've been tasked to make a huge change to the functionality of our LearnCenter, but I can not figure out the best way.  It seems that every solution I consider, I make assumptions that the current LearnCenter does not seem to support.  Here is what I am trying to do:

Due to different levels of access, we require all users to go through the “Pending” statue when they first attempt to access the LearnCenter.  An administrator then approves the account for access.  I need to remove the “Pending” step and give all new users access to minimal content, but still “Flag” new user accounts that have not been looked at yet.