Today we received a message from an instructor:

I am looking to import material from a previous module/Canvas "course" to this year's version.

If I choose "copy Canvas course" or "Canvas course export package", I get the following message: "Importing the same course content more than once will overwrite any existing content in the course."

Does this mean that old material in the previous course will be overwritten?

Can I just copy some sections of material, without this constraint? I don't need everything anyway.

The ambiguity of the message is causing confusion, even myself as admin am having a hard time in phrasing a response that explains the behaviour.

There are more users experiencing the same issue. Here is a proposed change in language, derived from a suggestion in the Release Q&A Releases Q&A: 2021-12-15 Course Import Warning Mes... - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com) from @SusanNiemeyer  @erinhmcmillan 

"Importing the same course content more than once will overwrite any existing, previously imported content in the target course."