Google for Startups welcomes Miami student’s TransferU platform
Strengthened tech support represents a major step forward for the college credit transfer project
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Published
Graeme Banks discusses TransferU with Kevin Kushman, who helps provide mentorship and support for the project
Google for Startups welcomes Miami student’s TransferU platform
Strengthened tech support represents a major step forward for the college credit transfer project
•
Published
The concept was in place, the need established, the prototype already built—and now Google is involved.
When Graeme Banks first developed TransferU, his goal was simple: address the national college credit transfer problem that cost students more than $6.5 billion every year.
But a simple goal does not always yield a simple solution. Because making the college credit transfer process easier means navigating one of higher education’s most frustrating and inefficient systems.
Now, the platform has been selected for the Google for Startups Cloud Program, which provides infrastructure and resources to promising early-stage companies. This will allow Banks to integrate Google’s backend technologies to improve speed, efficiency, and data processing of TransferU as the project moves closer to a full release.
“The tech is now supported by Google to help build and scale the product,” Banks said. “So it's being used now in things like the course equivalency database, transcript uploads, and the OCR parsing. The work can be done faster and it’s more accurate, because it's Google technology.”
Inclusion in this competitive program designed to support early-stage startups will also allow TransferU to scale and analyze equivalency data in milliseconds. It will also provide Banks with additional assistance through technical support, mentorship, and startup resources.
As an Integrated Social Studies Education and Political Science major and member of the Honors College at Miami University, Banks first conceived TransferU after personally experiencing the complicated process of transferring credits between universities.
The harsh reality is that 43% of transfer credits are lost forever, forcing one in five students to repeat courses they’ve already completed. Even more troubling, 16% of students end up abandoning their degrees entirely after being derailed by what’s known as a “leaky pipeline.”
“It's a challenging puzzle comprised of static, sometimes incompatible data, requiring lots of human intervention,” said Kevin Kushman, Electrada CEO and Miami’s Joyce Barnes Farmer Distinguished Guest Professor. “Graeme's application is an empowerment tool for students and families. It has a real opportunity to disrupt an entrenched process and reward universities who adopt it with simpler, accessible decision-making by smoothing the transition through transparency.”
This approach connects with the emerging concept of edupreneurship, which has become a new strategic initiative of Miami’s College of Education, Health, and Society.
Edupreneurship applies successful business practices to the education industry, and TransferU aligns with this mission by building on a foundation that extends beyond students to address broader systemic challenges in higher education.
Its focus on developing community-centered solutions also earned an additional grant from Purpose Commons and the National Contribution Project. And Banks’ ongoing conversations with universities have revealed that the credit transfer problem is not just a student problem.
Institutions feel it too. Because of this, TransferU is evolving into a two-way platform that serves both sides by bridging the gap with better technology and shared understanding.
As TransferU approaches a public launch, Banks will soon represent Miami University at Google Cloud Next 2026, reflecting both his work and a broader movement to modernize the college credit transfer process.
“It’s a big moment for TransferU, but it’s also a big moment for Miami,” Banks said.
When Graeme Banks first developed TransferU, his goal was simple: address the national college credit transfer problem that cost students more than $6.5 billion every year.
But a simple goal does not always yield a simple solution. Because making the college credit transfer process easier means navigating one of higher education’s most frustrating and inefficient systems.
Now, the platform has been selected for the Google for Startups Cloud Program, which provides infrastructure and resources to promising early-stage companies. This will allow Banks to integrate Google’s backend technologies to improve speed, efficiency, and data processing of TransferU as the project moves closer to a full release.
“The tech is now supported by Google to help build and scale the product,” Banks said. “So it's being used now in things like the course equivalency database, transcript uploads, and the OCR parsing. The work can be done faster and it’s more accurate, because it's Google technology.”
Inclusion in this competitive program designed to support early-stage startups will also allow TransferU to scale and analyze equivalency data in milliseconds. It will also provide Banks with additional assistance through technical support, mentorship, and startup resources.
As an Integrated Social Studies Education and Political Science major and member of the Honors College at Miami University, Banks first conceived TransferU after personally experiencing the complicated process of transferring credits between universities.
The harsh reality is that 43% of transfer credits are lost forever, forcing one in five students to repeat courses they’ve already completed. Even more troubling, 16% of students end up abandoning their degrees entirely after being derailed by what’s known as a “leaky pipeline.”
“It's a challenging puzzle comprised of static, sometimes incompatible data, requiring lots of human intervention,” said Kevin Kushman, Electrada CEO and Miami’s Joyce Barnes Farmer Distinguished Guest Professor. “Graeme's application is an empowerment tool for students and families. It has a real opportunity to disrupt an entrenched process and reward universities who adopt it with simpler, accessible decision-making by smoothing the transition through transparency.”
This approach connects with the emerging concept of edupreneurship, which has become a new strategic initiative of Miami’s College of Education, Health, and Society.
Edupreneurship applies successful business practices to the education industry, and TransferU aligns with this mission by building on a foundation that extends beyond students to address broader systemic challenges in higher education.
Its focus on developing community-centered solutions also earned an additional grant from Purpose Commons and the National Contribution Project. And Banks’ ongoing conversations with universities have revealed that the credit transfer problem is not just a student problem.
Institutions feel it too. Because of this, TransferU is evolving into a two-way platform that serves both sides by bridging the gap with better technology and shared understanding.
As TransferU approaches a public launch, Banks will soon represent Miami University at Google Cloud Next 2026, reflecting both his work and a broader movement to modernize the college credit transfer process.
“It’s a big moment for TransferU, but it’s also a big moment for Miami,” Banks said.
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg. Interested in learning more about the College of Education, Health and Society or the Department of Entrepreneurship? Visit their website for more information.