All GIS data submitted to the University must meet or reference a published standard, such as the United States National Map Accuracy Standard (NMAS), A GPS standard (state or federal) or a defined survey standard. This will guarantee true positional accuracy of the geographic data and, therefore, compatibility of digital information.  GIS data must also be documented used the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Metadata Standards or be FGDC metadata compliant.

Second, it is required that all GIS data be in New Jersey state plane coordinates (SPC) in North American Datum 1983 (NAD83) projected using Transverse Mercator. The North American Datum of 1983 is required for mapping in the horizontal plane while the North American Vertical Datum (NAVD93) is required for the vertical plane. All data should be delivered in feet. The accuracy of the data will be tested by comparing the positions of points whose locations or elevations are shown against positions as determined by surveys of a higher accuracy. The error factor must be less than what is required by the United States Map Accuracy Standards. All data not meeting the error requirement will be resubmitted to the consultant for correction at the consultant’s expense.

Third, the GIS data must be delivered according to standard media and digital formats.  Accepted formats and media only include ESRI 9x personal or enterprise/individual geo-databases with the ESRI standard topology rules. The spatial topology should not contain any overshoots, slivers, open polygons, unlabeled polygons or unresolved line segment intersections. All GIS data submitted to Rutgers should be topologically clean and free of errors.

All attributes should be coded according to Rutgers requirements. Nationally recognized coding requirements are acceptable for soils, wetlands and land use.