Holy Angel University is a private Catholic university located in Angeles City in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. Founded in 1933, it is considered the first Catholic school in the country that was founded by the laity (instead of the diocese or a religious congregation) as well as the first Catholic high school that was co-educational (instead of exclusively for boys or exclusively for girls). Sitting on a seven-hectare campus in the city's prime estate, Holy Angel is one of the region's largest universities. Its over 17,000 student population this school year also makes it one of the biggest private schools in Central Luzon. The government has once again recognized Holy Angel as among the country's top universities in terms of academic excellence when the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) renewed the Autonomous Status it first bestowed on it five years ago. This recognition came on the heels of the acquisition of an international accreditation from the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) — the only school in the Philippines and the Far East to have done so. CHED has also declared seven programs as centers of development, namely, Teacher Education, Hospitality Management, Information Technology and Computer Science, Business Administration, Civil Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. Holy Angel University also has a Level II re-accredited status from the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) for its Accountancy, Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Hospitality Management and High School programs, as well as Level I accredited status for its Elementary School and candidate status for its Graduate School.