This study examines the basic communication course (BCC) as it relates to students' first academic year at a university. Specifically, we compared students completing both a first-year experience (FYE) course and BCC against students completing only an FYE course. Data was collected over two cohorts of students and after analytical procedures, we found that there is an association between courses taken (both a FYE course and BCC or just a FYE course) and retention at the university. Additionally, the results revealed that the combination of both a FYE course and BCC during the first-year fostered emotional support and classroom connectedness, which previous research suggests improves students' integration into the larger academic community (see Dwyer, Bingham, Carlson, Prisbell, Cruz, & Fus, 2004; Titsworth, McKenna, Mazer, & Quinlan, 2013). Ultimately, this research provides implications for the integral role the BCC plays in the first-year.