Jsa/tnl549

recreated this PR from https://github.com/edx/edx-platform/pull/5559, to base on rc instead.

fixes TNL-549.

there's a dependency on https://github.com/edx/edx-platform/pull/5554 which is not yet merged but addresses a related bug, TNL-606.   There's a workaround condition in one of the tests, which should be removed in whichever PR merges last.

@andy-armstrong @polesye @jmclaus 
@benpatterson FYI
yeah, i go back and forth on this.  originally i had the test clicking an element instead of calling view methods.  what i prefer about using the methods is that they're less brittle and favor encapsulation.   this leaves more logic outside the test though.  i think it would be good to establish some guidelines / conventions on jasmine testing strategy going forward.