In 2008, the Connecticut Board of Governors for Higher Education authorized the institution to offer baccalaureate programs.

In 2005, Goodwin University initiated a major project to construct a new campus along the Connecticut River in East Hartford.

The college had purchased riverfront property that was home to a defunct oil terminal, and took steps to redevelop the site in partnership with state and federal environmental agencies and the Connecticut Development Authority (CDA).

The site had been designated as a brown field, or contaminated area, by the Environmental Protection Agency, and the college removed thirty large oil storage tanks and conducted soil remediation with the help of state and federal funding.

[4] Goodwin University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE).