Ok.. that is recent enough... so unless you want to go through the 'updates' list I would live with it. I would check your video driver for updates from the manufacturer since you said ... "I think"... instead of ...."I did"...
Since if is persistent with arccatalog and not arcmap, you could try to change rename your profile files (all those template things like normal.mxt etc etc) to get new ones generated.
Check with the course instructor since the institute would be able to advise on updates and their availability through their program.
And finally, I would advise against doing anything that isn't a "Need" rather than a "Nice" before contacting the course instructor and other students to see if anyone else is having issues. There is nothing worse than having to make your final maps for a project with crayons because you decided to 'fix' the software.
