It uses a semester-based academic calendar and is accredited to award certificates, associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees.

[2] The institution traces its origins to 1886 when H. S. Goldey opened the Wilmington Commercial College.

[3] The campus has an area of 24 acres (9.7 ha), consisting of four apartment-style residence halls and one traditional-style residence hall, Fulmer Center (home to classrooms and administrative offices), athletic fields, and the Joseph West Jones Center (housing the library, gymnasium, fitness center, cafe, chapel, music room, and bookstore).

The university awards graduate and undergraduate degrees in a number of disciplines including economics, psychology, computer information systems, and business.

Goldey-Beacom is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education to award degrees through the doctoral level.