Hmm I didn't have any problems with this quest, you can still get in the academy if you're not in the mages' guild. It's just somewhat less legal <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />
Your objective isn't very far inside the Academy too, so it really was an easy quest after all.
Shikin Haramitsu Daikomyo "Everything I encounter serves as the perfection of wisdom that leads to enlightenment."