diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/__init__.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/__init__.py
index 276e72e75c..88531aaf87 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/__init__.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/__init__.py
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ can't yet be deleted, for example if there are straggling course overrides.
     than implicit.
 
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 import crum
 import logging
 from abc import ABCMeta
@@ -74,7 +75,7 @@ from openedx.core.lib.cache_utils import get_cache as get_request_cache
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
-class WaffleNamespace(object):
+class WaffleNamespace(six.with_metaclass(ABCMeta, object)):
     """
     A base class for a request cached namespace for waffle flags/switches.
 
@@ -82,7 +83,6 @@ class WaffleNamespace(object):
     (e.g. "course_experience"), and can be used to work with a set of
     flags or switches that will all share this namespace.
     """
-    __metaclass__ = ABCMeta
 
     def __init__(self, name, log_prefix=None):
         """
@@ -216,14 +216,13 @@ class WaffleSwitch(object):
             yield
 
 
-class WaffleFlagNamespace(WaffleNamespace):
+class WaffleFlagNamespace(six.with_metaclass(ABCMeta, WaffleNamespace)):
     """
     Provides a single namespace for a set of waffle flags.
 
     All namespaced flag values are stored in a single request cache containing
     all flags for all namespaces.
     """
-    __metaclass__ = ABCMeta
 
     @property
     def _cached_flags(self):
@@ -371,7 +370,7 @@ class CourseWaffleFlag(WaffleFlag):
             """
             # Import is placed here to avoid model import at project startup.
             from .models import WaffleFlagCourseOverrideModel
-            cache_key = u'{}.{}'.format(namespaced_flag_name, unicode(course_key))
+            cache_key = u'{}.{}'.format(namespaced_flag_name, six.text_type(course_key))
             force_override = self.waffle_namespace._cached_flags.get(cache_key)
 
             if force_override is None:
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/admin.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/admin.py
index 05cad5175c..59258f2c1e 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/admin.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/admin.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """
 Django admin page for waffle utils models
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 from django.contrib import admin
 
 from config_models.admin import KeyedConfigurationModelAdmin
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/forms.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/forms.py
index 21c69cf924..bed1101baa 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/forms.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/forms.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """
 Defines a form for providing validation of subsection grade templates.
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 from django import forms
 
 from openedx.core.lib.courses import clean_course_id
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/migrations/0001_initial.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/migrations/0001_initial.py
index bb9ca54de6..bc756df095 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/migrations/0001_initial.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/migrations/0001_initial.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 import django.db.models.deletion
 from django.conf import settings
 from django.db import migrations, models
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/models.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/models.py
index 792b139d54..4f84b684f6 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/models.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/models.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """
 Models for configuring waffle utils.
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 from django.db.models import CharField
 from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _
 from model_utils import Choices
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_init.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_init.py
index bcac166504..8d005c0dca 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_init.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_init.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """
 Tests for waffle utils features.
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 import crum
 import ddt
 from django.test import TestCase
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_models.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_models.py
index b2aab23c82..965eea16f3 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_models.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_models.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 """
 Tests for waffle utils models.
 """
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 from ddt import data, ddt, unpack
 from django.test import TestCase
 from edx_django_utils.cache import RequestCache
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_testutils.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_testutils.py
index b9da185335..8a307b0286 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_testutils.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/tests/test_testutils.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 Tests for waffle utils test utilities.
 """
 
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 import crum
 from django.test import TestCase
 from django.test.client import RequestFactory
diff --git a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/testutils.py b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/testutils.py
index b27de92c3c..03487dc4f0 100644
--- a/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/testutils.py
+++ b/openedx/core/djangoapps/waffle_utils/testutils.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 Test utilities for waffle utilities.
 """
 
+from __future__ import absolute_import
 from waffle.testutils import override_flag
 
 # Can be used with FilteredQueryCountMixin.assertNumQueries() to blacklist