diff --git a/cms/djangoapps/course_creators/models.py b/cms/djangoapps/course_creators/models.py
index b370ac423a..4975705407 100644
--- a/cms/djangoapps/course_creators/models.py
+++ b/cms/djangoapps/course_creators/models.py
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ class CourseCreator(models.Model):
                                                                     "why course creation access was denied)"))
 
     def __unicode__(self):
-        return u'%s | %s [%s]' % (self.user, self.state, self.state_changed)
+        return u"{0} | {1} [{2}]".format(self.user, self.state, self.state_changed)
 
 
 @receiver(post_init, sender=CourseCreator)
diff --git a/cms/templates/activation_active.html b/cms/templates/activation_active.html
index f2232f6f40..d7133062de 100644
--- a/cms/templates/activation_active.html
+++ b/cms/templates/activation_active.html
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
       <div class="msg">
         <h2 class="title">${_("Your account is already active")}</h2>
         <div class="copy">
-          <p>${_("This account, set up using (%(email)s), has already been activated. Please sign in to start working within edX Studio.") % dict(email=user.email)}</p>
+          <p>${_("This account, set up using {0}, has already been activated. Please sign in to start working within edX Studio.".format(user.email))}</p>
         </div>
       </div>
 
diff --git a/cms/templates/index.html b/cms/templates/index.html
index ba24099e63..586762eae5 100644
--- a/cms/templates/index.html
+++ b/cms/templates/index.html
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@
     <article class="content-primary" role="main">
 
       <div class="introduction">
-        <h2 class="title">${_("Welcome, %(name)s!") % dict(name= user.username)}</h2>
+        <h2 class="title">${_("Welcome, {0}!".format(user.username))}</h2>
 
         %if len(courses) > 0:
         <div class="copy">