diff --git a/lib/datalib.php b/lib/datalib.php
index b23e0d1a7c7..ad3488d7b5d 100644
--- a/lib/datalib.php
+++ b/lib/datalib.php
@@ -1303,7 +1303,7 @@ function fix_course_sortorder($categoryid=0, $n=0, $safe=0, $depth=0, $path='')
             // will stop us -- shift things aside for a moment...
             if ($safe || ($n >= $min && $n+$count+1 < $min && $CFG->dbfamily==='mysql')) {
                 $shift = $max + $n + 1000;
-                $DB->execute_sql("UPDATE {$CFG->prefix}course
+                $DB->execute_sql("UPDATE {course}
                                      SET sortorder=sortorder+?
                                    WHERE category=?", array($shift, $categoryid));
             }