The aim of the paper is to evaluate the influence of the international Bologna process on the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and development of higher education in Latvia. Research on the concepts and approaches of “quality assurance” in higher education (HE) indicates that there is a number of differences between the common understanding of the general approaches of Quality Management developed by quality professionals and used in business, and the “quality assurance” methodology in EHEA which is built on three processes only – evaluation, accreditation and audit. Higher education institutions (HEI) are looking for a higher level of effectiveness across all functions and processes and are often choosing the Total Quality Management approach as a strategy to succeed. Requirements of external international environment are a competitive force asking for new competence of graduates – ability to align with international labour market requirements. Therefore the paper also reflects on issues of the influence of the Bologna process, European Qualifications Framework and European Union (EU) mobility programs on the skills and abilities of HEI graduates in international and national context. The paper includes authors’ proposals for clarification of the meaning and content of the concept “quality assurance” in education.