diff --git a/lms/djangoapps/instructor/tests/test_api.py b/lms/djangoapps/instructor/tests/test_api.py
index 00b0fc56b05f..0158ce0ec8c6 100644
--- a/lms/djangoapps/instructor/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/lms/djangoapps/instructor/tests/test_api.py
@@ -920,15 +920,16 @@ def test_users_created_and_enrolled_successfully_if_others_fail(self):
         manual_enrollments = ManualEnrollmentAudit.objects.all()
         assert manual_enrollments.count() == 2
 
-    @patch('lms.djangoapps.instructor.views.api', 'generate_random_string',
-           Mock(side_effect=['first', 'first', 'second']))
     def test_generate_unique_password_no_reuse(self):
         """
         generate_unique_password should generate a unique password string that hasn't been generated before.
         """
-        generated_password = ['first']
-        password = generate_unique_password(generated_password, 12)
-        assert password != 'first'
+        with patch('lms.djangoapps.instructor.views.api.generate_random_string') as mock:
+            mock.side_effect = ['first', 'first', 'second']
+
+            generated_password = ['first']
+            password = generate_unique_password(generated_password, 12)
+            assert password != 'first'
 
     @patch.dict(settings.FEATURES, {'ALLOW_AUTOMATED_SIGNUPS': False})
     def test_allow_automated_signups_flag_not_set(self):