Governance of World-Class universities; A Necessity or a need?

World-class university is from the issues in which many scholars have presented various definitions and characteristics for it. Although many countries attempt to build up this kind of university; In fact, many scientists have had different interpretations from it. Altbach (2003) argues that World-Class university refers to those institutions which meets excellency standards in global ranking. Becoming a member of the exclusive group of World-Class universities is not achieved by self-declaration; rather elite status is conferred by the outside world on the basis of international recognition. Others argue that what makes a university World-Class one is related to prestige and there would be no consistency between the performance of this kind of university and its name. Some others suggest that having at least one World-Class university is helpful for growth and development of countries; While some opponents question joining to the standards of World- Class universities. This article is a descriptive research which aims to study the characteristics of World-class universities; Concentrating on talents, abundant resources and good governance, Using library research, reading academic articles, white papers, reports of international organizations such as World Bank, OCED, UNESCO, and Websites of World-Class universities. Meanwhile considering World-Class university's characteristics, the researcher consider the different approaches of becoming a member of this kind of university as well as its advantages and drawbacks, by upgrading existing institutions, merging existing institutions, and creating new institutions and through creating research universities as well. In the end, he addresses the implications of World-Class universities for Iranian Higher Education System.