Twins Offer Perfect Match for Clients’ School Records

CARDIFF —  A college graduate seeks a first job. A homemaker must assemble scattered course credits and a dated college transcript to prepare for a second career. A teacher making a transcontinental move needs rush delivery of university credits from this country and abroad.

All are likely clients for Academ, a Cardiff-based central holding house for transcripts from institutions of higher learning.

Academ is the brainchild of identical twins Don and Dave Megill. Their business is just one sideline to eclectic careers that include college-level teaching, writing jazz textbooks, operating three video rental stores, performing weekend musical gigs, conducting community choruses and delving into experimental music.

Originally considered as early as 1973, this newest Megill venture took root seven years ago on a small scale in California.

“Academ originated because we had so many transcripts,” said Don Megill. The brothers completed music majors and all the premed course work at UC Berkeley, then earned master’s degrees in music. “It’s a hassle to move to another job. Each school keeps all the transcripts for the students at that school, but nobody holds all the client’s records from different schools.”

For students and job hunters alike, repeatedly having to call, write and send fees to all schools where they’ve completed course work can take weeks or months. Academ expedites the process by storing all of a client’s transcripts in one place. On written request by clients, the service issues complete transcripts within 48 hours.

“A client sends us a list of the schools attended--we had one yesterday with 14,” Dave Megill said. “Then we wait for documents to come in from those schools.”

After the initial communication with schools is completed and official transcripts have been accepted by Academ, the client’s records are updated as more courses are taken.

“It’s simple on the client’s end, but very complex at our end,” Don said. “‘We knew we were going to have to establish some very firm relationships.”

Academ carefully laid groundwork by meeting with key representatives of concerned associations, such as the American Assn. of College Registrars and Admissions Officers; the Assn. for School, College and University Staffing; the American Assn. of School Personnel Administrators, and others. These organizations were particularly concerned with accuracy and how Academ would deal with fraudulent or doctored records.

“We have as strict, or more strict, proofings than the established standards,” Don said. Using standard registrars’ guidelines, Academ watches for red flags such as unsealed envelopes, mailing dates that indicate time for interception, evidence of tampering, or schools not recognized as accredited institutions.

“Leaders of registrars’ organizations have seen the integrity with which we operate, and are now very supportive,” Don said. Although such groups cannot officially endorse a private sector service, they can tell students about the service. “We want mutual respect between these associations and Academ,” he said.

Both the Navy and Air Force have expressed interest in Academ for members of the armed services who accumulate units while serving overseas. When military service ends, scholarships and college acceptance often hinge on timely availability of transcripts.

Also interested are personnel in offices of certification, who “love to receive all of a prospective teacher’s transcripts in one package,” Dave said. “People right on the edge of student job placement and certification are really enthusiastic about Academ. They’re the ones who collect transcripts, get them together and send them out in an expedient manner.”

State certification offices see Academ’s potential for compressing a normally lengthy process. In some cases, education codes have had to be reinterpreted (through the state attorney general’s office) or legislative action taken to allow for a centralized private sector holding house such as Academ.

Charles Mackey, supervisor of teacher education and certification for New York State, said of Academ: “We have been very favorably impressed. Academ is a reliable, legitimate repository for transcripts. It appears to be a secure system which precludes any tampering or altering of records. Security is very important to us.”

Mackey’s office issues 25,000 to 30,000 teaching certificates each year and reviews close to 100,000 applications, with many applicants holding out-of-state or foreign credits. Mackey estimated that a service such as Academ could save the applicant six to eight weeks of processing time.

“The concept is superb,” said Richard Mastain, who has been in charge of teacher licensing in California for five years. Recently appointed executive secretary for California’s Commission on Teaching Credentialing, Mastain added: “For young people getting out of college, it makes a lot of sense to have a place like Academ keep their file.

“Academ will also be an advantage to agencies like ours in that we have a lot of confidence that Academ will keep very accurate records. Academ is saying they’ll do a good job. The years will tell. If I were starting again, I’d like to keep my records with a service like Academ.”

For the Megills, securing the business legally and getting the word out have been primary objectives. Although Academ’s clients number in the hundreds--”We’ve sent files all over the country”--the major push for clients is yet to come.

Wry humor, quips and banter pepper all encounters with the Megills, but they are matter-of-fact about their many-faceted endeavors.

“We’ve done it all--musicals, pit groups, stage, choral groups, lessons, arranging and composing,” Don said. “But musicians are not just creative with sound. Academ is a way to be free to be a musician.”

“The happiest people are those who work for themselves,” Dave added. “The humanities teach you to create problems. Business teaches you to solve problems.”

These days, doing business necessitates a fast juggling act, with Dave on sabbatical from the UC San Diego music department and Don teaching full time. “We meet daily from 8:30 to 8:45 a.m.,” Dave said, “and talk at each other as fast as we can.”

The Megills acknowledge the role played by the third general partner, Steve McGee, who has spent the last two years crisscrossing the country, meeting with placement officers, registrars and graduate deans in more than 2,000 colleges and universities in all 50 states. In marketing Academ and articulating what it stands for, McGee has provided the feedback for Don and Dave in shaping company policy.

McGee also acts as trouble-shooter. “If a graduate dean says, ‘I can’t accept this file,’ (and this has only happened in two or three cases),” Don said, “Steve goes right into the office and says, ‘What’s the problem? Let’s look at the file. Let’s look at the service--this is how it works,’ and they accept it.”

Janet Kerstein, executive director of the Assn. for School, College and University Staffing, spoke of Academ’s “extremely professional nature.”

“Steve McGee attends all the professional meetings as a conference participant. Academ makes a real effort to meet the people who could potentially use its service,” she said.

As president, Don follows up on McGee’s contacts, works with funding and, together with his wife, Cynthia, takes charge of the day-to-day operations of Academ. “I’m chief worrier and cook,” he said.

Dave brings computer expertise to Academ, designing systems for information retrieval and storage and addressing the complex challenge of interfacing with institutions.

“Believe me, I have looked at systems,” Dave said, adding that despite technical advances, transcript storage at Academ is still exclusively on hard copy (on paper, not disks).

Academ’s one-time application fee is $35, with an additional $5 fee each time a file is sent. The need for transcripts is definitely seasonal, with a March to July push as people seek new jobs or apply to graduate schools.

To maintain its reputation, Academ must be constantly on the lookout for authenticity. Recently, a transcript arrived with what looked like a perfect alteration, a paste-on. “We called the school,” Dave said. “And they checked the blotchy spot. In fact, it was a valid tape-on, but schools are happy that we make those checks.”

Recently, Academ received transcripts from Quebec in French, and from the University of the Philippines. Academ requires that such documents be sent to one of six evaluation services that, for a $50 to $100 fee, checks the transcript against American accreditation levels and also for fraud.

So far, client feedback has been positive. “Using traditional channels, it took two months for my transcripts to get to UCSD,” one UCSD student said. “I almost didn’t get accepted because of it. Academ is a great idea--no hang-ups, no hassle, low expense.”