I would also suggest that you include a statement of what constitutes an excused absence. Remember that we do not want to assume responsibility for the deaths of thousands of grandmothers during finals week. A written ADA policy is required on all course syllabi. This should be done during the first week of class. Perhaps it is in research that the absence of a rigorous evaluation does the greatest injustice to our younger practicing colleagues.
Most fields have access to plenty of data on research expectations.
In the accounting field, for example, a published paper summarizes the quality and quantity of publications for newly promoted associate professors. The National Research Council report on doctoral programs provides data on faculty publishing and citations in more than 40 disciplines. Presumably each of us can also look in our own departments for what might be reasonable research or creative expectations. Thus, it is simply inexplicable to find folders with three-year periods without obvious research or creative activities and to see a satisfactory evaluation for each of the years or, perhaps even worse, three straight years of official concern. In the latter case, one would expect either an improvement or an unsatisfactory.