Meet the voice behind USask’s iconic U-Star registration system

For many University of Saskatchewan (USask) students from the 1990s to the early 2000s, U-Star and its signature voice were inseparable from the experience of checking grades and schedules and registering for classes. As part of USask’s 2026 Silver Grads celebration, the Green&White recently connected with USask alumnus Terry Roebuck (BA’82), a former computer science lecturer in USask’s College of Arts and Science, to reflect on this iconic part of student life and his role as the voice of U‑Star.

G&W: For those who may not remember or who never experienced it, what was U‑Star?

Roebuck: U‑Star was a unique idea that connected USask students to the registration system using a telephone. This was well before the internet as we know it today—in the days of rotary phones, when touch‑tone phones were still relatively rare.

At the time, it was a remarkable piece of technology. Students could register for classes, check grades, and interact with the university system simply by calling in. 

G&W: How did you become the voice of U‑Star?

Roebuck: Originally, I recorded the voice prompts myself while developing the system. I was the technical person behind it. We later held a contest at the university and brought in professional voices from different academic and arts backgrounds.

In the end, I was everyone’s second choice—and somehow that made me the voice of U‑Star.

G&W: Did students ever recognize your voice outside of the system?

Roebuck: I think I probably brought that on myself. When I was teaching, I used to tell students, “I’m sure you’ve sworn at me.” When I explained that I was the voice of U‑Star, people would look at me with these bemused expressions and then immediately agree that, yes, they definitely had talked to me before.

G&W: What do you remember about how students experienced U‑Star?

Roebuck: This was very new technology, and not everyone understood how it worked. We had students trying to dial in using rotary phones and pressing keys that didn’t exist, including the pound key. Some people literally pounded their phones.

At the time, the registrar even kept a roll of quarters in his desk. If someone was having trouble, he’d give them a quarter so they could call in again and finish registering. 

G&W: Do you have a favourite behind‑the‑scenes story?

Roebuck: There were moments of temptation, like wanting to pick up the phone and answer live. I always imagined saying, “Hi, welcome to U‑Star… come on, press something different.”

For the record, that never happened, but the temptation was there.

G&W: Is there anything else that you’d like this year’s Silver Grads to know about U‑Star?

Roebuck: U‑Star was never the work of just one person. It took an incredible team across Information Technology Services and the Registrar’s Office to make it possible. Without that collaboration, none of this would have happened.

G&W: You taught some students from the Silver Grad era and remember the time well. What’s your message to the Class of 2001?

Roebuck: I think people thought the future was far, far away, and suddenly it’s here. In fact, it’s already the past.

I’d like to congratulate the Silver Grads on their accomplishments and wish them many more in the future.