Since you're using this timing pattern several times, it would be more readable to encapsulate it into a reusable pattern. 5 minutes searching the internet turned up [chrono](https://github.com/toastdriven/chrono), a simple Python module used for timing code execution. You can do something like:
```
from chrono import Timer

with Timer() as iteration_over_courses_timer:
    courses_list = _accessible_courses_list(self.request)

# and then later, refer to `iteration_over_courses_timer.elapsed`
```