College students are now no longer the only people accessing Facebook. Employers are logging on to check up on both current and prospective employees.

The increasingly popular online directory is available to anyone with a ".edu" e-mail address, but some university administrators across the country have noticed students' accounts are being accessed by people from both inside and outside universities.

Rachel Kearney, director of career services and alumni affairs at Indiana University, reported firsthand experience of employers using Facebook.

"People don't believe this is happening, but it is," she said. "I've seen it."

According to Kearney, in one such incident an outraged government employer who worked close with IU and hired a number of interns from the university, contacted her.

Kearney said the employer used current and former interns to access Facebook, looking into the personal profiles of other interns. Upon finding distasteful information and pictures of a former intern and current IU student, the employer "demanded" its name and the student's internship status be removed from the Facebook profile.

The apologetic student complied, she said.

IU has taken steps to make its students aware of the issue, Kearney said, and other universities are doing the same.

Julia Barlow Sherlock, director of career services at Central Michigan University, said an email was sent to all students warning them that employers are looking at their Facebook accounts to "see the 'other' side of who [they] are."

Administrators at other universities, including the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota, have noted the growing controversy surrounding the issue and are planning to question employers at their respective spring recruitment rushes.

While Kearney said students should be aware of this issue, she doesn't blame employers for using Facebook as a resource.

"Employers are nervous about hiring decisions," she observed. "Any source of information, especially candid and unedited, can [allow them] to see how [students] represent themselves away from the office."

And the University of Wisconsin may not be immune.

Lori Berquam, UW interim dean of students, said she has yet to find any hard evidence but imagines it is happening "pretty regularly."

Matt Nelson, a career advisor for UW, echoed Berquam's concerns.

Though he has no firsthand experience, Nelson said he has heard tales of employers jumping onto Facebook to check up on students. Objectionable photos, especially including drinking or suggestion of illegal activity, are most likely to catch the attention of employers, Nelson said.

Nelson further mentioned "murmurings" of political beliefs and affiliations being among the information employers gain and consider by using Facebook.

Not all employers are using Facebook, Nelson noted, but on the other hand, Facebook is certainly not the only means by which employers are checking into potential employees.

He cited Googling as one alternative screening method, and University of Michigan career center assistant director Lynne Sebille-White added criminal and credit checks are also fairly common.

While Facebook seems to be the newest trend in employer screening, some question how long the online directory will be used this way, or used at all.

"A lot of these things go in cycles," Nelson said. "Two years from now, who knows if people will even be using it anymore."

Still, Nelson warns students to protect themselves from possible dangers stemming from personal information displayed in a public domain.

Beyond the recent negative attention Facebook has been gaining, Berquam notes it's important to also acknowledge the positive aspects of this online directory.

"It's connecting people before they're on campus," she said. "This is a big place, and [Facebook] is a way to make it a little smaller."