I think I'm onto something but I'm still unsure as to the root of the issue... I realized that I didn't mention that the new_courses "table" is actually a view (because I forgot it was one!). So, I tried copying the data from the new_courses view into an actual table. I then modified the update statement to use the new_courses table and it worked!! I'm still confused as to why it would work without error as a table but not as a view. The data is the same in both so it's should update in the same way, right?

This is a pain since we have to add yet another table to our database, but I guess we have to if there's no other choice. So any insight as to why the update statement works using a table vs. a view is greatly appreciated!!