diff --git a/advlabdb/adminModelViews.py b/advlabdb/adminModelViews.py
index dc4bae4..c55fe9d 100644
--- a/advlabdb/adminModelViews.py
+++ b/advlabdb/adminModelViews.py
@@ -174,7 +174,7 @@ class UserView(SecureAdminModelView):
                 )  # Password is automatically hashed with this method
 
         if model.has_role("assistant") and not model.assistant:
-            semester_experiments = form.semester_experiments.data if form.semester_experiments else None
+            semester_experiments = form.semester_experiments.data if form.semester_experiments else []
 
             assistant = Assistant(user=model, semester_experiments=semester_experiments)
             self.session.add(assistant)