In 1911, Bethany Ladies College opened with forty-four students and four faculty members, and a mission to educate young women. In 1927 the Norwegian Synod, later known as the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), purchased the college. The ELS operated the school as a co-educational high school and junior college until 1969, when the high school department was closed. Bethany Lutheran Theological Seminary began in 1946 as a department of the college; in 1975 it became a separate institution.

In May 1996, the Board of Regents resolved to start moving Bethany from an associate to a baccalaureate degree-granting institution. In the spring of 2001 Bethany entered a new era in its history by granting its first baccalaureate degrees.

Regardless of these significant changes, Bethany continues to offer a student-centered Christian liberal arts education designed to prepare students for this life and for life in eternity.