Austin Community College?

[zompton]

I have been looking into becoming a game programmer for a while now. I am currently in the Army and stationed in Iraq, but i will be getting out in 10 months. When i get out i will be moving to Austin, TX so i started to look for schools in that area. I found a program that sounds great at Austin Community College. Here are three links giving details on their certification program;

http://www.austincc.edu/techcert/Video_Games.html

http://www.austincc.edu/techcert/Video_Curriculum.html

http://www3.austincc.edu/schedule/wcell/cegam.htm

Now this seems like a great program, a bit expensive and it offers no credit or degree, but it still looks great. Is this a credible program in the gaming industry?

I currently have no college besides a few very basic courses. Right now i just started reading a few books on C++, is this a good place to start before i get out of the Army? I was also trying to find good online courses to get started. Are there any good online courses i can take while im still in Iraq.., ones that do not require a good internet because mine is terrible?

Any input is appreciated!