diff --git a/cms/static/js/views/settings/advanced.js b/cms/static/js/views/settings/advanced.js
index dd51134aa1..3c1eba2fb2 100644
--- a/cms/static/js/views/settings/advanced.js
+++ b/cms/static/js/views/settings/advanced.js
@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
-define(["js/views/validation", "jquery", "underscore", "gettext", "codemirror", "js/views/modals/validation_error_modal"],
-    function(ValidatingView, $, _, gettext, CodeMirror, ValidationErrorModal) {
+define(["js/views/validation",
+        "jquery",
+        "underscore",
+        "gettext",
+        "codemirror",
+        "js/views/modals/validation_error_modal",
+        'edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/html-utils'],
+    function(ValidatingView, $, _, gettext, CodeMirror, ValidationErrorModal, HtmlUtils) {
 
 var AdvancedView = ValidatingView.extend({
     error_saving : "error_saving",
@@ -13,7 +19,9 @@ var AdvancedView = ValidatingView.extend({
         // TODO enable/disable save based on validation (currently enabled whenever there are changes)
     },
     initialize : function() {
-        this.template = _.template($("#advanced_entry-tpl").text());
+        this.template = HtmlUtils.template(
+            $("#advanced_entry-tpl").text()
+        );
         this.listenTo(this.model, 'invalid', this.handleValidationError);
         this.render();
     },
@@ -33,7 +41,7 @@ var AdvancedView = ValidatingView.extend({
         _.each(_.sortBy(_.keys(this.model.attributes), function(key) { return self.model.get(key).display_name; }),
             function(key) {
                 if (self.render_deprecated || !self.model.get(key).deprecated) {
-                    listEle$.append(self.renderTemplate(key, self.model.get(key)));
+                    HtmlUtils.append(listEle$, self.renderTemplate(key, self.model.get(key)));
                 }
             });
 
diff --git a/cms/static/js/views/settings/grader.js b/cms/static/js/views/settings/grader.js
index 3a125f67d8..cf936f4ff8 100644
--- a/cms/static/js/views/settings/grader.js
+++ b/cms/static/js/views/settings/grader.js
@@ -1,4 +1,10 @@
-define(["js/views/validation", "underscore", "jquery"], function(ValidatingView, _, $) {
+define(["js/views/validation",
+        'gettext',
+        'edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/string-utils',
+        "edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/html-utils",
+        "underscore",
+        "jquery"],
+    function(ValidatingView, gettext, StringUtils, HtmlUtils, _, $) {
 
 var GraderView = ValidatingView.extend({
     // Model class is CMS.Models.Settings.CourseGrader
@@ -49,9 +55,14 @@ var GraderView = ValidatingView.extend({
             if (this.setField(event) != this.oldName && !_.isEmpty(this.oldName)) {
                 // overload the error display logic
                 this._cacheValidationErrors.push(event.currentTarget);
-                $(event.currentTarget).parent().append(
-                        this.errorTemplate({message : 'For grading to work, you must change all "' + this.oldName +
-                            '" subsections to "' + this.model.get('type') + '".'}));
+                var message = StringUtils.interpolate(
+                    gettext('For grading to work, you must change all {oldName} subsections to {newName}.'),
+                    {
+                        oldName: this.oldName,
+                        newName: this.model.get('type')
+                    }
+                );
+                HtmlUtils.append($(event.currentTarget).parent(), this.errorTemplate({message : message}));
             }
             break;
         default:
diff --git a/cms/static/js/views/settings/grading.js b/cms/static/js/views/settings/grading.js
index 8a3bab4fc6..184cba06d2 100644
--- a/cms/static/js/views/settings/grading.js
+++ b/cms/static/js/views/settings/grading.js
@@ -1,5 +1,12 @@
-define(["js/views/validation", "underscore", "jquery", "jquery.ui", "js/views/settings/grader"],
-    function(ValidatingView, _, $, ui, GraderView) {
+define(["js/views/validation",
+        "underscore",
+        "jquery",
+        "jquery.ui",
+        "js/views/settings/grader",
+        'edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/string-utils',
+        'edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/html-utils',
+    ],
+    function(ValidatingView, _, $, ui, GraderView, StringUtils, HtmlUtils) {
 
 var GradingView = ValidatingView.extend({
     // Model class is CMS.Models.Settings.CourseGradingPolicy
@@ -21,13 +28,12 @@ var GradingView = ValidatingView.extend({
     initialize : function() {
         //  load template for grading view
         var self = this;
-        this.template = _.template($("#course_grade_policy-tpl").text());
-        this.gradeCutoffTemplate = _.template('<li class="grade-specific-bar" style="width:<%= width %>%"><span class="letter-grade" contenteditable="true">' +
-                '<%= descriptor %>' +
-                '</span><span class="range"></span>' +
-                '<% if (removable) {%><a href="#" class="remove-button">remove</a><% ;} %>' +
-        '</li>');
-
+        this.template = HtmlUtils.template(
+            $("#course_grade_policy-tpl").text()
+        );
+        this.gradeCutoffTemplate = HtmlUtils.template(
+            $("#course_grade_cutoff-tpl").text()
+        );
         this.setupCutoffs();
 
         this.listenTo(this.model, 'invalid', this.handleValidationError);
@@ -68,7 +74,7 @@ var GradingView = ValidatingView.extend({
                },
                this);
         gradeCollection.each(function(gradeModel) {
-            $(gradelist).append(self.template({model : gradeModel }));
+            HtmlUtils.append(gradelist, self.template({model : gradeModel }));
             var newEle = gradelist.children().last();
             var newView = new GraderView({el: newEle,
                 model : gradeModel, collection : gradeCollection });
@@ -147,7 +153,7 @@ var GradingView = ValidatingView.extend({
     gradeBarWidth : null, // cache of value since it won't change (more certain)
 
     renderCutoffBar: function() {
-        var gradeBar =this.$el.find('.grade-bar');
+        var gradeBar = this.$el.find('.grade-bar');
         this.gradeBarWidth = gradeBar.width();
         var gradelist = gradeBar.children('.grades');
         // HACK fixing a duplicate call issue by undoing previous call effect. Need to figure out why called 2x
@@ -156,15 +162,15 @@ var GradingView = ValidatingView.extend({
         // Can probably be simplified to one variable now.
         var removable = false;
         var draggable = false; // first and last are not removable, first is not draggable
-        _.each(this.descendingCutoffs,
-                function(cutoff, index) {
-            var newBar = this.gradeCutoffTemplate({
-                descriptor : cutoff['designation'] ,
+        _.each(this.descendingCutoffs, function(cutoff) {
+            HtmlUtils.append(gradelist,  this.gradeCutoffTemplate({
+                descriptor : cutoff.designation,
                 width : nextWidth,
-                removable : removable });
-            gradelist.append(newBar);
+                contenteditable: true,
+                removable : removable})
+            );
             if (draggable) {
-                newBar = gradelist.children().last(); // get the dom object not the unparsed string
+                var newBar = gradelist.children().last(); // get the dom object not the unparsed string
                 newBar.resizable({
                     handles: "e",
                     containment : "parent",
@@ -174,19 +180,18 @@ var GradingView = ValidatingView.extend({
                 });
             }
             // prepare for next
-            nextWidth = cutoff['cutoff'];
+            nextWidth = cutoff.cutoff;
             removable = true; // first is not removable, all others are
             draggable = true;
         },
         this);
-        // add fail which is not in data
-        var failBar = $(this.gradeCutoffTemplate({
+        // Add fail which is not in data
+        HtmlUtils.append(gradelist, this.gradeCutoffTemplate({
             descriptor : this.failLabel(),
             width : nextWidth,
+            contenteditable: false,
             removable : false
         }));
-        failBar.find("span[contenteditable=true]").attr("contenteditable", false);
-        gradelist.append(failBar);
         gradelist.children().last().resizable({
             handles: "e",
             containment : "parent",
@@ -298,10 +303,13 @@ var GradingView = ValidatingView.extend({
         this.descendingCutoffs.push({designation: this.GRADES[gradeLength], cutoff: failBarWidth});
         this.descendingCutoffs[gradeLength - 1]['cutoff'] = Math.round(targetWidth);
 
-        var $newGradeBar = this.gradeCutoffTemplate({ descriptor : this.GRADES[gradeLength],
-            width : targetWidth, removable : true });
+        var newGradeHtml = this.gradeCutoffTemplate({
+            descriptor : this.GRADES[gradeLength],
+            width : targetWidth,
+            contenteditable: true,
+            removable : true });
         var gradeDom = this.$el.find('.grades');
-        gradeDom.children().last().before($newGradeBar);
+        gradeDom.children().last().before(HtmlUtils.ensureHtml(newGradeHtml).toString());
         var newEle = gradeDom.children()[gradeLength];
         $(newEle).resizable({
             handles: "e",
@@ -313,8 +321,8 @@ var GradingView = ValidatingView.extend({
 
         // Munge existing grade labels?
         // If going from Pass/Fail to 3 levels, change to Pass to A
-        if (gradeLength === 1 && this.descendingCutoffs[0]['designation'] === 'Pass') {
-            this.descendingCutoffs[0]['designation'] = this.GRADES[0];
+        if (gradeLength === 1 && this.descendingCutoffs[0].designation === 'Pass') {
+            this.descendingCutoffs[0].designation = this.GRADES[0];
             this.setTopGradeLabel();
         }
         this.setFailLabel();
@@ -349,10 +357,10 @@ var GradingView = ValidatingView.extend({
         else return 'F';
     },
     setFailLabel: function() {
-        this.$el.find('.grades .letter-grade').last().html(this.failLabel());
+        this.$el.find('.grades .letter-grade').last().text(this.failLabel());
     },
     setTopGradeLabel: function() {
-        this.$el.find('.grades .letter-grade').first().html(this.descendingCutoffs[0]['designation']);
+        this.$el.find('.grades .letter-grade').first().text(this.descendingCutoffs[0].designation);
     },
     setupCutoffs: function() {
         // Instrument grading scale
diff --git a/cms/static/js/views/settings/main.js b/cms/static/js/views/settings/main.js
index 74aacc24c5..333b5c3a60 100644
--- a/cms/static/js/views/settings/main.js
+++ b/cms/static/js/views/settings/main.js
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 define(["js/views/validation", "codemirror", "underscore", "jquery", "jquery.ui", "js/utils/date_utils", "js/models/uploads",
     "js/views/uploads", "js/views/license", "js/models/license",
-    "common/js/components/views/feedback_notification", "jquery.timepicker", "date", "gettext"],
+    "common/js/components/views/feedback_notification", "jquery.timepicker", "date", "gettext",
+    'edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/string-utils'],
        function(ValidatingView, CodeMirror, _, $, ui, DateUtils, FileUploadModel,
                 FileUploadDialog, LicenseView, LicenseModel, NotificationView,
-                timepicker, date, gettext) {
+                timepicker, date, gettext, StringUtils) {
 
 var DetailsView = ValidatingView.extend({
     // Model class is CMS.Models.Settings.CourseDetails
@@ -25,7 +26,6 @@ var DetailsView = ValidatingView.extend({
 
     initialize : function(options) {
         options = options || {};
-        this.fileAnchorTemplate = _.template('<a href="<%= fullpath %>"> <i class="icon fa fa-file"></i><%= filename %></a>');
         // fill in fields
         this.$el.find("#course-language").val(this.model.get('language'));
         this.$el.find("#course-organization").val(this.model.get('org'));
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ var DetailsView = ValidatingView.extend({
             paceToggleTip.text(gettext('Course pacing cannot be changed once a course has started.'));
         }
 
-        this.licenseView.render()
+        this.licenseView.render();
 
         return this;
     },
@@ -139,14 +139,16 @@ var DetailsView = ValidatingView.extend({
         var now = new Date(),
             hours = now.getUTCHours(),
             minutes = now.getUTCMinutes(),
-            currentTimeText = gettext('%(hours)s:%(minutes)s (current UTC time)');
+            currentTimeText = StringUtils.interpolate(
+                gettext('{hours}:{minutes} (current UTC time)'),
+                {
+                    'hours': hours,
+                    'minutes': minutes
+                }
+            );
 
-        $(e.currentTarget).attr('title', interpolate(currentTimeText, {
-            'hours': hours,
-            'minutes': minutes
-        }, true));
+        $(e.currentTarget).attr('title', currentTimeText);
     },
-
     updateModel: function(event) {
         switch (event.currentTarget.id) {
         case 'course-language':
@@ -322,8 +324,8 @@ var DetailsView = ValidatingView.extend({
     },
 
     handleLicenseChange: function() {
-        this.showNotificationBar()
-        this.model.set("license", this.licenseModel.toString())
+        this.showNotificationBar();
+        this.model.set("license", this.licenseModel.toString());
     }
 });
 
diff --git a/cms/static/js/views/validation.js b/cms/static/js/views/validation.js
index d0b21e9810..afbe6bedc7 100644
--- a/cms/static/js/views/validation.js
+++ b/cms/static/js/views/validation.js
@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
-define(["js/views/baseview", "underscore", "jquery", "gettext", "common/js/components/views/feedback_notification", "common/js/components/views/feedback_alert", "js/views/baseview", "jquery.smoothScroll"],
-    function(BaseView, _, $, gettext, NotificationView, AlertView) {
+define(["edx-ui-toolkit/js/utils/html-utils",
+        "js/views/baseview",
+        "underscore",
+        "jquery",
+        "gettext",
+        "common/js/components/views/feedback_notification",
+        "common/js/components/views/feedback_alert",
+        "js/views/baseview",
+        "jquery.smoothScroll"],
+    function(HtmlUtils, BaseView, _, $, gettext, NotificationView, AlertView) {
 
 var ValidatingView = BaseView.extend({
     // Intended as an abstract class which catches validation errors on the model and
@@ -10,7 +18,7 @@ var ValidatingView = BaseView.extend({
         this.selectorToField = _.invert(this.fieldToSelectorMap);
     },
 
-    errorTemplate : _.template('<span class="message-error"><%= message %></span>'),
+    errorTemplate : HtmlUtils.template('<span class="message-error"><%- message %></span>'),
 
     save_title: gettext("You've made some changes"),
     save_message: gettext("Your changes will not take effect until you save your progress."),
@@ -34,7 +42,7 @@ var ValidatingView = BaseView.extend({
             var ele = this.$el.find('#' + this.fieldToSelectorMap[field]);
             this._cacheValidationErrors.push(ele);
             this.getInputElements(ele).addClass('error');
-            $(ele).parent().append(this.errorTemplate({message : error[field]}));
+            HtmlUtils.append($(ele).parent(), this.errorTemplate({message : error[field]}));
         }
         $('.wrapper-notification-warning').addClass('wrapper-notification-warning-w-errors');
         $('.action-save').addClass('is-disabled');
@@ -60,7 +68,7 @@ var ValidatingView = BaseView.extend({
         // Set model field and return the new value.
         this.clearValidationErrors();
         var field = this.selectorToField[event.currentTarget.id];
-        var newVal = ''
+        var newVal = '';
         if(event.currentTarget.type == 'checkbox'){
             newVal = $(event.currentTarget).is(":checked").toString();
         }else{
diff --git a/cms/templates/js/course_grade_cutoff.underscore b/cms/templates/js/course_grade_cutoff.underscore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1a85dd30f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cms/templates/js/course_grade_cutoff.underscore
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+<li class="grade-specific-bar" style="width:<%- width %>%">
+    <span class="letter-grade" contenteditable="<%- contenteditable %>"><%- descriptor %></span>
+    <span class="range"></span>
+  <% if (removable) {%><a href="#" class="remove-button">remove</a><% ;} %>
+</li>
diff --git a/cms/templates/settings_graders.html b/cms/templates/settings_graders.html
index 44989d201d..20ca1bc3de 100644
--- a/cms/templates/settings_graders.html
+++ b/cms/templates/settings_graders.html
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 %>
 
 <%block name="header_extras">
-% for template_name in ["course_grade_policy"]:
+% for template_name in ["course_grade_policy", "course_grade_cutoff"]:
   <script type="text/template" id="${template_name}-tpl">
     <%static:include path="js/${template_name}.underscore" />
   </script>