diff --git a/cms/envs/aws.py b/cms/envs/aws.py
index 04cb88d2fd..5d17d9c157 100644
--- a/cms/envs/aws.py
+++ b/cms/envs/aws.py
@@ -88,6 +88,9 @@ with open(CONFIG_ROOT / CONFIG_PREFIX + "env.json") as env_file:
 
 # STATIC_URL specifies the url to use for static files
 STATIC_URL = ENV_TOKENS.get('STATIC_URL', STATIC_URL)
+# GITHUB_REPO_ROOT is the base directory
+# for course data
+GITHUB_REPO_ROOT = ENV_TOKENS.get('GITHUB_REPO_ROOT', GITHUB_REPO_ROOT)
 
 # STATIC_ROOT specifies the directory where static files are
 # collected