Evening classes, held in the YMCA building on Chestnut Street in Springfield for students studying part-time, were offered in law, business, and accounting.

In that same year the first day program was started; it was in engineering, with 53 students enrolled.

The college's charter was expanded in 1959 to permit the college to grant the bachelor's degree in any field of business administration, science, engineering, education, and law, and certain master's degrees.

The School of Arts and Sciences was established in 1967, and the college received accreditation as a general purpose institution in 1972.

The Kevin S. Delbridge Welcome Center, which houses the admissions offices, opened in 2002.

In 2008 and 2009, respectively, the college expanded and renovated the Blake Law Center and built Southwood Hall.

The university's 215-acre (0.87 km2) campus serves as home to undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, pharmaceutical, and law students from throughout the United States and abroad.

Undergraduate and graduate programs are offered in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, Pharmacy, and at the School of Law.

[7] In 2024, Western New England University accepted 88% of undergraduate applicants, with admission standards considered challenging, applicant competition considered very low, and with those enrolled having an average 3.49 high school GPA.

[8] For the 2021–2022 academic year, enrollment at Western New England University was 3,674 students.