The Basic Communication Course Annual (BCCA) was first published in 1988 after the Midwest Basic Course Directors Conference. The Annual publishes the best scholarship available on topics related to the basic communication course and is distributed nationally to scholars and educators interested in the basic communication course.

Manuscripts published in the Annual are not restricted to any particular methodology or approach. They must, however, address issues significant to the basic course (defined broadly). In 2013, the Annual began including a Basic Course Forum section for shorter essays responding to a specific question. In 2016, the University of Dayton Department of Communication acquired the journal and its archives from the initial publisher and began publishing it as an open-access journal.

The submission process for Volume 35 (2023) is now open. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 1, 2022.